A Snake's True Colors
by Amyra9
Summary: Dumbledore surprises Harry with a trip to the Marauders era. But when Harry is sorted into Slytherin, things take a turn for the worst. Will James ever accept Harry or will the age-long prejudice keep them apart? Oh, and Snape is Harry's roommate. ADVENTURE DRAMA COMEDY ROMANCE ANGST LE/JP [Work in Progress]
1. The Headmaster's Office

**A/N: Welcome to A Snake's True Colors! Hope you enjoy! **

One didn't usually visit one's dead friend in the home of his killer, Harry Potter reflected, stepping on the doorstep to Snape's private residence. He glanced around and shifted the weight to the balls of his feet, subconsciously identifying that he was in enemy territory. The place itself was not bad, but ghostly, a house with the feeling of a rickety old barn.

The brisk autumn mists bustled past him as he lifted one knuckle to knock three times and as he did, the echo broke the silence of the empty cul de sac. The noise was off-putting and Harry jerked his hand back.

Suddenly, the door creaked open to reveal a dark slit. It paused here before swinging open and letting the inhabitant into Harry's view.

Severus Snape was clearly not happy to see him. Lank black hair framed beady black eyes that glowered down at Harry like a bug he would like to step on. His robes were long and black and his body silhouetted against the dim candle-light behind him. Harry felt his temper rise defensively. It had been three months since he'd last seen the man that horrible day at Hogwarts, yet Snape was the same foul, unpleasant bat Harry had always known. Only now he was a murderer.

They glared at each other for a moment, both refusing to speak first. Snape's eyes narrowed to the point that Harry wondered if his massive nose were in the way.

"Potter." Snape said, each syllable cutting like glass.

"Snape." Harry shot back. There was silence for a moment, tense and animous, with only the sound of whispering from the trees. Harry's glare deepened as he waited for Snape to respond. "May I come in?"

Snape's eyes were hard, but he stepped back.

Reluctantly, Harry stepped directly into a tiny sitting room. The walls were lined at every point with bookshelves, making the room seem smaller than it was. A fireplace crowned the far side and Snape's actions were jerky as he reached above it to pull down a tiny aluminum box.

Floo powder. He turned abruptly to face Harry, his expression severe.

"Should anyone learn of this—." He threatened.

Harry's look was cool. "What? The Dark Lord doesn't know I'm here?"

Snape's eyes narrowed like a snake about to strike and he stepped forward, leveraging his height distance to tower over Harry. Harry glared up through his eyebrows and refused to back down.

"Be not mistaken, Potter." Snape hissed. "You are only here because Albus Dumbledore wishes you so."

Harry's eyes flashed dangerously as his volume increased. "Don't speak his name!"

Snape was furious. "You insolent child—"

"You traitorous snake!" Harry spit out. He glared into Snape's black eyes and spoke slowly. "I'm here to see Dumbledore."

"And here I thought this was a social call." Snape said, his voice dripping with venom. He twisted the metal box open and, in the silence of the room, the noise was deafening. Long fingers sank into the powder and came up with a handful the color of a candy stick. Harry watched him stiffly.

"After you, Potter." Snape said, lifting his arm into a giant black wing beckoning Harry forward.

Harry glanced at Snape before stepping into the artificially stoned fireplace. It was smaller than ideal and the scent of charcoal filled Harry's nostrils. It was with a reproachful expression that Snape followed Harry into the fireplace and, although Harry inched as close as he could to the wall, the tight proximity forced their shoulders to practically touch. Harry grimaced as Snape threw down the flew powder in one smooth motion.

"Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts!" Snape commanded.

Snape's sitting room began to spin and disjoint until suddenly the Headmaster's Office spun into view. Feeling as the floor had been pulled out from under him, Harry stumbled out of the fireplace and onto the floor. The room slowly began to stop spinning and Harry felt anger rise as he got his bearings.

The space, once warm and eccentric, now resembled something straight out of the Slytherin dungeons. Deep green walls wrapped around them, lined with shelves of leather-bound books and magical objects. A curio sat on one and an enchanted music box on the other. Harry knew Snape was headmaster, but he had not been prepared for this.

"Trouble with the Floo, Potter?" Snape commented, stepping around Harry and neatly brushing off his robes. Harry shot the man a glare as he righted himself.

The firelight danced around Snape as he walked straight to his desk and put something in the bottom shelf. Harry had a fleeting vision of Snape chopping him up for potions ingredients and delivering him to Lord Voldemort, and, despite Dumbledore's assurances that Snape was innocent, Harry fingered his wand just in case.

"Harry!" A familiar, beloved voice called. "So good to see you, my boy." Harry spun to the sound and spotted the face of Albus Dumbledore hanging on the wall.

"Professor!" Harry said eagerly.

The old man's charisma was powerful and comforting all at once, and a self of relief flooded Harry's emotions. This was the first time he would see Dumbledore since he had died. Since Snape killed him.

Harry's gaze darkened and he glanced across at Dumbledore's murderer. Snape stood at the Headmaster's desk, shrouded in black, watching him, and all Harry could think was that he didn't deserve to stand where Dumbledore had stood.

Snape's character had always been questionable to Harry.

Yes, Dumbledore had informed the Order of Snape's loyalty shortly after his death, but in Harry's opinion, that didn't excuse him. He had still bullied Harry in potions class, mocked Sirius to his death, and murdered the only man who could help Harry defeat Voldemort.

In Harry's eyes, he was nothing but a murderer.

Dumbledore smiled warmly before turning to Snape. "Thank you, Severus. We won't be long."

Snape's face was unreadable as he replied. "I'll be in my lab." He spun, black ropes whipping behind him, and exited through the far door.

Harry watched him leave, his expression dark. From the wall, Dumbledore seemed to follow Harry's train of thought as he studied the young man before him. "Professor Snape was kind to allow you in his residence to get here." He commented, lightly.

Harry's gaze darkened. "Yes. He's a Saint."

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "I assume you received my letter to the Order, Harry."

"About how he killed you for good reason? Yes. I read it."

Dumbledore stroked his beard and eyed Harry, his expression unreadable. Suddenly he closed his eyes and exhaled wearily, shifting in place. "I am sorry to have left so soon, Harry," He began. "I explained as much in my letter, but mere apologies are often no match for grief."

Harry remembered the months after Dumbledore's death and went quiet.

"You, more than anyone, deserve answers." Dumbledore continued. "And you, more than anyone, deserve happiness. You have borne more than those twice your age and while I tried to shield you from the worst of it, I worry I failed."

"It was never your job to protect me, Professor."

Dumbledore studied him sadly.

"The last few months have given me ample time to think, as I am trapped here on this wall. I have watched Death Eaters abuse my school, Voldemort destroy my country, and the Pigmy Puffs lose the World Cup. While there is little I can do for the world— there is one thing I can do for you."

Harry glanced at Dumbledore. "There is?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Harry almost spotted a smile behind that silver beard. "Let me begin by saying that Severus has created new spells in his spare time." Dumbledore said. "One of these is quite interesting. It is called tempus illustra. When paired with certain herbs, it multiplies the effect of the classic time turner, allowing the user to go back decades in time. Unlike the time turner, however, it does not allow the user to stay back in time. It lasts exactly three months before it wears off, returning the user to their present time, minutes after they left."

Harry leaned back, processing. "You're suggesting I go back in time? Defeat Voldemort while he's still a baby?"

"But alas," Dumbledore shook his head mournfully. "When a time turner is used, all future changes to the past are taken into account in the present. Think back to your third year experiments. Everything you did whilst back in time was accounted for in the present. Clearly you did not go back in time to kill Voldemort or he would already be dead."

Harry nodded.

"However," Dumbledore continued. "Knowledge of this spell made me reexamine old memories. For instance, I remember a Hogwarts transfer student in 1977." Harry perked up at the year. He knew it well. It was the year the Marauders and Lily graduated Hogwarts. Harry's mind drifted but he shut down the thought quickly. There was no way—

"His name was Harry Fletcher." Dumbledore said, "and he attended Hogwarts for only three months before he withdrew. A shame, because he was quite the quidditch talent. Furthermore—" Dumbledore paused, "he had a curse scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "You think—"

"I do."

Harry reeled back in shock. That meant—

"I think you traveled back to your parents seventh year at Hogwarts, enjoyed much needed time with your loved ones, and then returned three months later, none the worse for wear. And I believe Headmaster Snape's spell is the key to it all."

Harry stared in disbelief, too shocked to let even Snape irritate him. It was surreal. Unbelievable. Impossible. And yet— Dumbledore just said that not only could he leave the war for a moment, he could do it with his parents.

Lily and James Potter.

Feelings Harry had suppressed for years suddenly attacked him in full force. Loss that he had never known them. Loneliness from years in the cupboard under the stairs. Longing for a family who cared.

All he had of them was a moment in front of a mirror. To actually meet them—

Harry thought back to 1977, a year where James (whom Harry envisioned as himself with hazel eyes) dated a beautiful redhead, a year where four boys wrecked mischief with their magic map, a year where three Animagi and a werewolf played in the shadows of the moon. He pictured them sitting (and laughing) at Gryffindor table, goblets in their hands and light in their eyes, and suddenly, he pictured himself there too.

He looked up into Dumbledore's eyes, in complete shock, incredulity, and gratitude, as Dumbledore's lips pulled into a smile and his eyes twinkled happily down at his student.

"Headmaster Snape has kindly agreed to perform the spell." Dumbledore said. Snape suddenly joined Harry's mental picture (albeit glowering from across the hall) and Harry doubted kindly was the correct word.

"I hope one day you look past your differences," Dumbledore said, "You have more to learn from each other than you realize."

Harry thought to the Snape he knew (callous, unfeeling, cruel, arrogant, a bully, and, well, he could go on) and wondered how Dumbledore could continue to make excuses for the man. But now was not the time to argue and Harry nodded his acquiescence.

Sensing Harry's discomfort, Dumbledore moved on to brighter topics. "Professor Snape is prepared to cast it today if you so choose."

This was a decision that didn't take long.

"Today is great, Headmaster." Harry said with a brightness he hadn't felt in some time.

He might see his parents today. His throat thickened with emotion and Harry swallowed.

Dumbledore beamed. "Wonderful, Harry, quite wonderful. Now, I suspected thus, and so had Dobby prepare your things." Harry laughed lightly. "You will arrive before the sorting of James and Lily's seventh year of Hogwarts. I have prepared the necessary paperwork to explain that you are a transfer student. Present it to myself prior to the sorting feast.

"On the table by your trunk is the paperwork, the necessary potion, the time turner, and the glamour for the Harry Fletcher I knew. No need to cast it now— remember, Headmaster Snape will remember you and we want to avoid that at present." Dumbledore winked and Harry's smile widened, imagining all the pranks he and his father had pulled on Snape.

"While he will be casting the spell, he does not know where you are going. Distance, I believe, is essential when it comes to Severus Snape and James Potter. It is up to you to visualize where and when you are going and the spell will take you there."

"Professor," Harry began. "In their seventh year, were my parents—I mean—"

"I believe their relationship bloomed during their seventh year," Dumbledore smiled. "Now, do you have any more questions before we proceed?"

Harry paused. "How will I know when the three months is ending?"

"Pick up the time turner, Harry." Dumbledore instructed. Harry did so. It was nothing fancy - just another bronze hour glass. But Harry could only describe it as magical as he held it in his hands.

"You see the hour glass?" Dumbledore continued. "It will act as a timer until your time runs out. When the last grain of sand passes through the eye, the spell will wear off, returning you to these chambers. I will see you again in a few minutes. And no one else will even know you've gone." Dumbledore beamed.

_No one else would know he was gone_, Harry's mind repeated.

A sense of relief Harry didn't recognize suddenly enveloped him. Three months to be just Harry— to escape the prophecy, the pressure, and attention. To be anonymous with people he loved. Harry couldn't think of a better escape. He turned to his mentor.

"Professor Dumbledore—," Harry began, words feeling inadequate. "Thank you."

"You are very welcome, Harry." Dumbledore said with a smile. "Just remember— it will be difficult at first, as no one will know who you are. Friendships take time, so have patience and you will reap your rewards. Time with loved ones is a very rare and beautiful thing. The students of 1977 will learn a lot from you, Harry. Show them your heart and they will love you in kind."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry said again, blinking back a sudden moisture in his eyes.

"One more thing worth noting," Dumbledore mentioned. "It will be very tempting, Harry, to try and change things while you are there. To right the wrongs of the past. You must, under no circumstances, change the events of your past or tell anyone of the future. Will you promise me that?"

Harry hesitated.

"You must promise me, Harry." Dumbledore voice intensified.

"I promise," Harry said.

"Now, shall we bring back Headmaster Snape?" Dumbledore said. Harry reluctantly nodded, acknowledging that Snape was a necessary evil in this scenario, and crossed to the door to knock.

A few moments later the door swung open. Fumes clouded out of the doorway and Snape's skin dripped with condensation. Harry forced himself to ignore the snide comment dangling on his tongue, thinking instead to how Snape would unknowingly reunite him with James Potter.

"Gather your things, Potter. My time is scarce." Snape said.

Harry pursed his lips but did as he was told. He set his trunk at his feet, draped the timeturner around his neck, gripped the letter in one hand and the potion in the other. His heart was beating like it knew what would happen. A little jittery, Harry turned back to Snape who clasped his fingers in an attempted show of knowledge.

"Let us proceed. I will cast the spell. You will focus on your destination with all of the clarity and precision you can muster— however little that be. Inability to concentrate will be no excuse when you are lost hurtling through space."

"Space?" Harry repeated in alarm.

"Yes, Potter, space." Snape said snidely.

"I know what—" Harry begun heatedly but Snape cut him off.

"Do as I say and you will be fine. Envision the time and place and then drink the potion as I instruct. Does that sound acceptable?"

Harry gritted his teeth and answered. "Yes."

"Fantastic." Snape's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Now, drink." Harry lifted the potion to his lips and closed his eyes.

"Be very specific when visualizing, Harry," Dumbledore chimed in. "Think of the position of the sun, of the shadows of the castle when you arrive. Try to avoid somewhere overly populated."

Harry thought of somewhere he was familiar with: the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch. He envisioned the molten sun setting over the horizon, the keeper rings' shadows on the grass, and the crisp autumn air encircling him. He thought of the students in the Hogwarts express, of James and Lily traveling towards him, of the fact that this time, he would be there too.

"Drink, Potter!" Cut in Snape's voice. Harry took the potion in one go and distantly heard Snape's voice casting the spell.

"Tempus ilustra," His low voice cast. "Mutatio putaverunt amare . . ." His voice continued but it faded as whirring spun in Harry's ears. He felt pressure and the sound got louder and louder until Harry opened his eyes to darkness. Suddenly, the darkness turned to light and the vision in his mind became the vision in front of him.


	2. Welcome Back to Hogwarts

If Harry hadn't known better, he would have thought the spell merely transported him outside. But subtle differences told him otherwise and Harry looked around in disbelief at details that normally would have escaped him: the chipped keeper rings; the Astronomy tower's missing shingles; windows that didn't yet exist. This wasn't his castle — it was one straight out of a history book.

And everything was as it should be, Harry realized. Here was Dumbledore upstairs in his office, McGonagall in the corridors, and house elves preparing in the kitchen.

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat, marveling at the fact that he was here.

He hid behind an old tree to apply the glamour (he couldn't risk the portraits recognizing James Potter) and booked it straight to the loo to find out what he looked like. This was the face his parents would remember, after all.

He stood before the great mirror and saw a stranger staring back.

The man had dark hair (the straight kind that always did what it was told), thin lips, and a strong jaw. The strangest thing was the eyes. Harry leaned closer to the mirror. They were hazel and blended into the rest of him. Harry frowned and ran a hand through his new hair. It flopped back into place like it was supposed to and Harry felt strangely disappointed.

The only thing familiar was his scar. Harry stared at it in the mirror, irritated that the glamour wasn't able to hide it. It represented everything that had ever gone wrong in his life: Voldemort attacking him; his parents dying; everything that had happened later because he lived; Dumbledore's death; that Harry was even there to witness it. And that after Dumbledore's death, the wizarding world had latched on to the only symbol of hope they had: Harry.

Harry wasn't upset with them. He understood why everything had happened the way it did. After Dumbledore had died and Voldemort overtook Hogwarts, the Order (led by Shacklebolt) had decided on a literal interpretation of the Prophecy. That Harry was the only way-and that he would either defeat Voldemort or Voldemort would defeat him.

Shacklebolt had decided that Harry needed to be trained-and so he was. There was Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, offensive and defensive charms and transfiguration, and even muggle hand to hand combat. Six months later, Harry felt he had learned more in months than he had in six years at Hogwarts.

Now, staring at his scar in the mirror, he saw the result of that. Harry Potter, the seventeen-year-old weapon to kill Voldemort and save the wizarding world from utter destruction. He frowned, before smoothing his bangs over his scar.

But here, he was just Harry, the teenager. He swallowed, pushing away his emotions and bracing himself to talk to Dumbledore.

The headmaster's tower was only a few corridors away, and Harry was there in a matter of minutes. The gargoyle was uncharacteristically friendly when Harry said the password ("Jelly Babies") and headed up the long circular staircase. Harry basked in the familiarity of the walk and felt relieved as he knocked on the Headmaster's door. (This was much better than Snape's private chambers).

There was a pause and then the door swung open. Harry's breath caught.

Professor Dumbledore stood in the mahogany door frame, decorated in dark robes that were dotted with baby dragons. Not surprised at all, Dumbledore peered over his spectacles at his young visitor. "Good evening. You must be here to assist with the incident in the East Corridor. Horrible accident, I'm afraid. Fawkes flew into the coffee stash again."

Harry lips twitched and he was suddenly very fond of this ridiculous old man and his slippers. "Did he?"

"Indeed. Right this way," Dumbledore said, discarding his dragon slippers with a slip of his ankles and reaching for real shoes.

"Professor, I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding." Harry corrected gently. Professor Dumbledore paused tying his laces and peered up at Harry.

"Has there?"

"Yes-" Harry's lips twitched. "You can put your slippers back on. I'm not here for the East Corridor. I actually have something to discuss with you."

Dumbledore's gaze became serious and he righted himself. "I see. Come in, then." Dumbledore ushered Harry to a lavender loveseat and then sank into his cushy armchair. As Harry sat down, he soaked in the golden walls, the lemon drops, and the newly-evolved Fawkes in the corner. Harry smiled warmly at the bird, who sang a tune back at him. Dumbledore watched on curiously.

"It is rare that Fawkes introduces herself." He observed. "She is usually quite shy with strangers." Harry smiled wryly at Dumbledore but didn't comment.

"You're probably wondering who I am and why I'm here." Harry began. "Read this and you'll understand everything." He passed the scroll to Dumbledore who received it curiously. The old man held it up and studied the parchment. It was sealed closed with Dumbledore's family crest. Dumbledore's eyes widened. He looked at Harry, and while nothing changed on the surface, Harry knew Dumbledore better than most. Dumbledore's hands tightened and his eyes were a little more calculating than before.

"Where did you find this?" He said carefully.

"You prepared it for me." Harry said.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Did I?"

"Open it." Harry encouraged. "It's safe, I promise you."

Careful hands unravelled the scroll and its tail end fell onto the desk. Dumbledore gripped the top and read the crisp cursive. "To One Albus Dumbledore." Dumbledore read aloud. "What beautiful handwriting." He commented. He paused and did a double take. "This is my handwriting!" He muttered. He continued to read silently but his lips moved subtly and his eyebrows drew together. A moment or two passed. "The year 1997?" Dumbledore repeated incredulously. He brought the scroll down for a moment and stared at Harry.

Harry wondered what was written in that scroll. He hadn't been able to open it, because the crest would have been unsealed. As Dumbledore approached the bottom, he picked up the rest of the scroll and read intensely. At some point, he finished because he leaned back and looked at Harry in an entirely new light. "Harry Potter?" He whispered. Harry smiled fondly at Dumbledore, relieved that now Dumbledore knew who he was and things could feel somewhat normal.

"That's me," Harry said.

"And you are from the future? The year 1997!"

"Yes, sir." Dumbledore leaned back incredulously in his cushy chair. "So this is how it feels like to be on the other side of my plans."

Harry laughed.

Dumbledore continued. "I have so many questions for you. In your time, is Voldemort-" he paused.

"Yes." Harry said shortly.

"I see." Dumbledore said. He looked down at the parchment once more.

"It says you are here to fulfill a mission essential to the war." He looked at Harry questioningly. Harry glanced at the scroll in confusion but figured Dumbledore had said whatever would get him in and nodded anyway. "But you are not here to kill Voldemort?" Dumbledore clarified.

"Unfortunately not," Harry said, though it was an enticing prospect.

Dumbledore sighed and removed his reading glasses. "I suppose that makes sense. After all, you are but a child. You would not be expected to kill Voldemort."

The weight of Harry's task suddenly seemed heavy as Harry nodded. "Exactly."

"Very well." Dumbledore paused thoughtfully. "I suppose you went to Hogwarts in your time?" Harry thought of the Death Eater run school that he was expelled from.

"Yes, sir."

"Which year did you complete?"

"Sixth year, sir."

"Ah, so you are beginning your seventh year. Excellent, excellent. James is beginning his seventh year as well. I will admit, I am curious to know who your mother is. It's hard to tell through that glamour of yours."

Harry laughed. "I actually look a lot like James."

"Thus the need for the glamour." Dumbledore nodded, eying Harry speculatively. "This really is a peculiar situation. I have so many questions, and yet—" Dumbledore shook the parchment at Harry, "—I, myself, warned not to ask them!"

"Don't worry, sir. I believe in you." Harry grinned.

"The question is, do I?" Dumbledore said mournfully, looking down at the parchment. He sighed. "Well, I suppose there's no need to chit chat then. Let's select your classes, shall we?"

Harry nodded. Dumbledore placed him in mostly advanced classes with a few electives. Harry didn't mind. That wasn't what he was here for. And after the last year, it would be a relief to go to school just to learn.

"That is everything, I should think." Dumbledore said, pausing, then glancing up at Harry with a smile. "What house do you belong to, my boy?"

"Gryffindor, sir." Harry said with a smile. Even the word Gryffindor was a familiar word to his lips. He hadn't seen that common room in so long.

Dumbledore's smile deepened. "Ah, excellent. Gryffindor is magnificent. I too was sorted there, back in the day. Wonderful students, as you'll soon find out. Now, the sorting feast is in less than an hour in the Great Hall, but I don't need to tell you that, do I," Dumbledore winked and stood to escort Harry to the door. He smiled grandfatherly, reached out for Harry's hand, and put his other hand on top in a full handshake. When Harry brought back his hand, it was full of lemondrops. He looked at Dumbledore in surprise, a grin pulling at his lips. "For the nerves." Dumbledore winked.

Harry grinned as the headmaster closed the door with a wink. Twenty years and Dumbledore had not changed a bit. The thought drifted into Harry's mind that this Dumbledore wasn't real, that in Harry's time he was gone. His smile faded as a familiar corner of his heart began to ache, a feeling that was becoming all too familiar to him in recent months. Dumbledore was dead. His parents were dead. Sirius was dead.

The silence of the hall began to close in on his ears and Harry exhaled heavily, leaning back against the wall and letting himself take comfort in the empty corridor far away from his problems.

It was 1977. Regardless of what was happening in his time, here he was just another student at Hogwarts.

It was a feeling he hadn't felt in years. He slowly released the tension in the shoulders he didn't know he'd been holding. For the last twelve months, he had been under constant supervision. While Dumbledore had been alive, there had at least been somebody else, but now . . . now there was nothing. The Order used him as their secret weapon and pushed him until he had nothing left to give. They all thought he was the one to defeat Voldemort.

Voldemort. A man who had haunted Harry since he was born. Harry pulled a folded piece of parchment from his pocket. A photo of a family, where a moving image of James held a dark haired baby boy. James threw him in the air and caught him in an embrace. Beside James, Lily smiled warmly at the camera before kissing her baby on the cheek.

Voldemort. The man who had killed Lily and James Potter, Harry's only shot at family. Anger filled Harry's heart and he glared at the photo with an intensity that drew moisture to his eyes. His knuckles turned white and he stared at the picture in the empty corridor, where time seemed endless and he was completely alone.

Here was where it all started. James and Lily. The Marauders. The betrayal. He could save them all if he wanted to. He didn't have to be alone.

Harry looked up from the photo, into the vacuum of the empty corridor.

He suddenly regretted his promise to Dumbledore.

* * *

Kilometers away, the Hogwarts express sped towards Harry, a new generation in its midst. These students lived a different life than Harry—still aware of the war, but from a distance, like spectators who think they know how to play Quidditch.

While most students chatted with their friends, there was one student who remained alone. In the hall of the train's caboose, James Potter leaned against the wall with his arms folded, waiting for his girlfriend to arrive. Still in his street clothes, he wore dark jeans and a v-neck that he knew made his shoulders look good. His dark hair was swept back in a very intentional casual look and he glanced down at his watch pointlessly. He'd already checked it a dozen time. He knew it was 4:47 PM.

Lily was on her way and he was pumped. This was the first time he would get to see Lily all summer, since his parents had decided to spend the holiday in Spain. Sirius had come with him and of course he'd invited Lily, but her parents had heard the words "month with wizard boyfriend" and shut the whole thing down. The two of them started dating officially at the end of last year (Aprilish. Okay, maybe May.) and James thought it was pretty unfair that the moment he and Lily became official, he didn't get to see her for three months.

Suddenly she appeared, swinging open the door, and James perked up. Her light auburn hair framed a beautiful heart shaped face. She was already dressed in her Headgirl robes (typical) with her badge pinned proudly to one side. She saw him leaning against the wall and smiled. James's heart skipped a beat and he couldn't help but smile back.

"James!" She greeted brightly, speeding her pace as she approached him.

"Lils!" He exclaimed affectionately, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close. Her auburn curls filled his gaze and her emerald eyes sparkled in a smile.

"It's so good to see you!" She said. "Letters just aren't the same!"

"Amen to that," He said, grinning.

She suddenly glanced down at his chest and James glanced down too, to see what she was looking at. "Where are your robes?" She asked, glancing up at him through long eyelashes.

His shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Oh, somewhere. I'll find them."

"James!" She laughed in exasperation, meeting his eyes. "You're head boy, you have to—"

"I'll change before the meeting." James said, waving his hand dismissively. "I have more important things to attend to." He smiled mischievously and gazed into her emerald green eyes before he leaned in and kissed her deeply.

"PDA!" A loud voice suddenly boomed from the doorway. Lily jumped away, or at least as far as she could with James' arms around her, and James glared, unmoving, at the intruder in annoyance.

"Padfoot." James complained loudly as Sirius walked up, grinning wolfishly and flanked by Remus and Peter. Sirius' dark hair was perfectly swept back (again the intentional casual thing) and he was halfway changed, his collar open (strategically), his tie dangling around his neck. He hated the things and refused to wear them outside of class.

Right behind him, Remus grinned widely at his friends. His jaw was rugged with stubble despite the fact that he had shaved that morning and his sandy brown hair hung across his eyebrows. Peter's face was rounder, his dirty blonde hair shaggy, and a black and white Led Zeppelin peeked through the gap in his robes.

Sirius lazily pulled open the compartment behind James and sauntered in. He didn't look back to see if others would follow; he knew they would. Sirius surveyed the options before spinning into the corner seat, settling both arms on the tops of the seats. Remus took the other side and leaned back against the window as Peter scooted in the seat closest to the door. James grinned fondly at them all. Sirius he had seen all summer, but the other two he hadn't seen since May and it felt good to be back. James took Lily's hand and pulled her inside to stand in the doorway.

"So what's up with you two lovebirds?" Sirius called, lazily putting his hands behind his head.

James' rolled his eyes before winking at Lily. "I was about to tell her about your summer fling." James teased.

"Ahh, Olivia." Sirius said reminiscently. "Beautiful dark curls, brilliant red lips, and such great big—mmffff!" James nailed Sirius in the mouth with his tie and gave him a look that said, don't you dare. "Eyes." Sirius said evenly, but his eyes were mischievous as he exchanged looks with his best friend. Lily glanced at him but laughed along anyways.

"Sounds like one hell of a summer." Peter said with a grin.

"A summer to remember." Sirius said dramatically, to everyone's laughter.

"Sounds better than my summer." Lily commented dryly. "My sister got married to this penguin named Vernon—"

James laughed out loud. "The guy who wouldn't let her eat pizza?"

"Okay, what?" Sirius repeated, looking horrified. Remus' eyebrows shot up and Peter nodded in agreement with Sirius.

"That's the one." Lily said, rolling her eyes dramatically. James traced the nape of her back in comfort. He had heard all about Vernon via post and James wasn't a fan. "And now we're related."

The marauders nodded empathetically, when suddenly Lily turned to James. "Oh. I forgot!" She said. "I told Mary I'd drop off her robes—"

James nodded understanding. "See you in a bit."

She smiled warmly at him before turning to the Marauders. "Okay, I'll be back. Good to see you Sirius, Remus, Peter!" Lily slipped away, letting the door click behind her.

James knew where the conversation was going as soon as she left and he braced himself for impact.

"Wow, three months. Must be a new record for you, Prongs." Remus grinned.

"Every day is a new record for him," Peter busted out laughing and James rolled his eyes. The rate at which he got girls was something of a legend at Hogwarts (which he was still proud of, not that Lily would ever know) and for him to settle down— well. That was unheard of.

Lily though— she was different. And while they hadn't gotten along well for most of (okay all of) the last six years, something had changed at the end of last year. Snape and Mulciber had attacked Lily's best friend, Mary with this awful spell. James still didn't know what it was. All he knew was there was a lot of blood, and he had been the one to find Lily sobbing over her best friends body. Mary ended up okay in the end, but Lily was understandably horrified and had written James about it over the summer. He had written back inviting her over, and then they were dating.

"I've already given him my speech." Sirius said, finally sitting opposite Peter.

"About how she's Lily-know-it-all-Evans, how she's going to rat us out to Filch—"

"Probably give us detention—" Remus continued realistically.

"Interfere with our pranks—" Peter said.

"Lecture all the damn time—" Sirius continued.

"She's not—" James said but Sirius cut him off.

"Look. I like her. I think she's nice. But nice doesn't mean you date her. It means you snog her in a broom closet between classes."

"No. That's what you do." James said, folding his arms.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at him and James suddenly knew where he was going. "Jennifer, Olivia, Ammelia—"

"Okay, okay—" James said.

"Christina, Ava, Elena, Megan, Evelyn, Lucy—" Sirius continued.

"I get it!" James exclaimed. "But that was last year. Not this year."

There was a moment of silence as each Marauder stared at James in disbelief.

"I mean it!" James repeated, staring at them adamantly.

"Hey—we believe you." Remus said.

"Do we?" Sirius said.

James mock glared at the ceiling.

Suddenly there was movement at the glass door and James glanced over. Three Slytherin students stood outside their compartment. Rodolphus Lestrange (tall, dark, and evil) stood haughtily in the center, flanked by a blonde Charles Avery on his left and the ever-greasy Severus Snape on his right.

James tried to keep his temper down but he couldn't help it. His father had told him about Lestrange Senior's raid on the hospital over summer break and James knew this Letrange was exactly the same. James gripped his wand defensively as Lestrange pulled the door open.

"Get lost, scumbag." Sirius said.

"No need to be so rude." Lestrange defended. "I was going to ask how your summers were? Not as good as ours, I know."

"Well we didn't plunder and kill people, if that's what you're asking." James retorted.

Lestrange's face remained impassive, but James was very satisfied as Avery's knuckles turned white on his wand. Snape glared down his nose, black hair clinging to his forehead.

"Careful, big accusations there." Lestrange said. "We didn't do anything of the sort. We actually worked for the same company. Right, Avery?" Lestrange turned to Avery who actually smirked.

"Oh, please. Doing what?" Peter said. Avery's smirked deepened and he locked eyes with Peter. "Pest control."

James was on his feet with his wand out in a second. "Get out."

"Ask nicely." Snape jeered. James turned his glare to the frail Slytherin. Usually he would have lifted his wand, but now he had a better idea. Cooler than usual, he glanced back at Lestrange.

"Detention." He announced. The looks on the Slytherin's faces were comical. Avery's eyebrows shot up in surprise, Lestrange stared at James like he was an idiot, and Snape openly snickered. Behind James, Peter grinned and Remus and Sirius looked very smug.

"You can't give—" Snape began.

"Oh yes, I can." James smirked, producing a badge from his pocket and spinning it on his finger dramatically.

"Head. Boy?" Rodolphus spit out incredulously.

"You?" Snape sneered distastefully.

James's smile was patronizing. "Me. And my first official act as Head boy is to give all of you detention for disturbing the peace."

"That's bullshit." Avery exclaimed.

"Yes, and that's Hogwarts official bullshit." James said. "Filch will be seeing you tomorrow night. Now, get out before I make it a week."

The Slytherins glared, clearly reluctant to leave, but they didn't have a choice. Lestrange glared at James darkly before turning on his heel. Avery and Snape followed without closing the door. Peter reached over and threw the door shut.

James grinned at the three Marauders, twirling his badge. "This is gonna be a good year."

Remus glanced at the badge and shook his head. "Why Dumbledore gave that to you, I will never understand."

"Who's the head girl?" Peter said, leaning back in his seat.

James' grin widened. "Lily Evans"

Remus' eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding."

Peter deflated. "I knew it was too good to be true."

Sirius waved them off. "He'll keep her distracted."

"Lily and I get the Head Office to ourselves." James grinned.


	3. It All Goes Wrong

Hours later, the Hogwarts express had arrived and most students had just assembled in the Great Hall. Only one student was still on his way.

Harry walked down the corridor to the sorting, his heart pounding, head spinning, and anticipation growing. The portraits, the statues, the corridors, and the ghosts all whipped past him as he walked through the castle like so many times before. But this time was different, and Harry swallowed as he contemplated what was about to happen. He was actually going to see his parents.

Slowly, he began to hear the roar of students. It got louder and louder until he turned the main corridor and spotted them: a group of little first years packed together before the double doors.

The air was suddenly filled with the hum of hundreds of people just a wall away. Harry was so close, he could feel it. He imagined the other side of this wall. The Gryffindor table from one end to the other, happy students sharing summer stories. James and Lily were there, Sirius was there, Remus was there. Even Dumbledore, sitting at the head table. Harry felt a pang of sadness as he realized this wasn't the ending to his story. He didn't belong here. But it didn't matter. He was here and this time was his.

Harry approached the group of first years and dozens of big eyes stared up at him as if he had sprouted wings.

"Who is he?"

"He's old!" They whispered to each other nervously and Harry couldn't help but smile down at them.

Professor McGonagall stood at the helm and eyed him carefully. She seemed about fifty years old, with fewer wrinkles and more trendy glasses, but the same stern demeanor. Her eyes were kind as she surveyed her charges. She held a parchment in both hands and explained the game plan. Little heads began to bob in affirmative and Harry shifted, the anticipation building.

The double doors of the Great Hall towered over them, and Harry took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. Nervous hands adjusted his tie and instinctively went to flatten his hair before he realized—Harry Fletcher had straight hair. Feeling silly, he brought his hands down to his sides again. Would the doors never open?

Finally, Professor McGonagall turned to them. "They are ready for you."

The doors cracked open and the line of light that was the Great Hall grew larger until all of Hogwarts lay before them.

Harry's senses were bombarded with the sweet scent of cinnamon sticks and cloves, the jingle of the Hogwarts fight song, and hundreds of student's voices bouncing up the vaulted ceiling. Four long tables pointed north, each a different jewel tone and one table stood above them all. Dumbledore sat at the head, with teachers seated to his right and left. Slughorn, Flitwick, Binns, and more.

Each of the House tables was paired with a matching floating tapestry – maroon, blue, violet, green. Harry had eyes only for one, his eyes drinking in the sight.

Gryffindor.

Translucent candles floated above students' heads and the fire's ambiance was warm and welcoming. The golden tablecloth seemed to glow against maroon ornaments and students of all ages eagerly chatted to their friends of their summer adventures. Harry smiled. He was home.

At the first year's entrance, the students turned and whispered, excited to watch the sorting even as they fondly remembered their own. Just as Harry's eyes searched for familiar faces, Dumbledore rose and raised a jeweled goblet to the students.

"Welcome all, to a grand new year at Hogwarts." He said, his voice powerful and warm. "We would especially like to welcome our new first years. We are happy that you have arrived, safe and sound, as you are very dear to us. We will begin our day's events with a unique sorting, the likes of which have never been seen. This year, Hogwarts is privileged to host a transfer student. Students old and new, please welcome Harry Fletcher!"

The hall erupted in applause and every student turned to stare at Harry. Harry froze at the attention and his eyes skimmed over the few hundred students and stopped at the Gryffindor table. All he could see were heads of hair. Where were they?

Suddenly Professor Dumbledore was done talking. "Let the sorting begin!"

A prefect placed the stool and old grey hat front and center. Its sweet, baritone voice suddenly filled the hall, causing the first years to jump and look around for the source. Harry chuckled at their innocent and shocked faces as they identified it and the hat began its song. Harry returned to his search and his eyes went through the students. Only half of his mind registered the hat was singing. The rest of him focused on finding his loved ones.

Not you, not you, not you, not—

You. He found a familiar face. Time stopped and noise faded as Harry's eyes locked on someone he thought he would never see again.

Sirius, his mind whispered. His mind flashed back to his godfather, a man as haunted as he was handsome, and Harry tried to reconcile that with the teenager at Gryffindor table.

This Sirius had silky black hair that draped over strong shoulders, broad from hours of swinging beater bats; he had dark expressive eyes that were haughty instead of haunted and smiled with a naivety that Harry had never seen; he also didn't notice at all as Harry stared at him in shock.

Sirius leaned over to mutter something in another boy's ear and Harry recognized the next Marauder: Remus.

This Remus had light hair that brushed the top of his ear and sandy facial hair that would have made Ron proud. Mischievous eyes grinned as he replied to Sirius and Harry soaked in the lack of grey in his hair, the robes that actually fit, and the relaxed slope of his shoulders.

If Sirius hadn't passed a note to the next boy, Harry might not have noticed him. It took him a second to recognize the round boyish eyes and the shape of his mouth — but suddenly Harry did.

Peter Pettigrew.

The man who single-handedly ruined Harry's life. Harry fingered his wand and wondered if anyone would notice if he cursed Pettigrew's food to choke him. Harry's temper rose and he glanced away for a moment before deciding to move on. James and Lily must not be far away.

There was dark familiar hair sitting diagonally from Sirius, his back to Harry. Harry studied the back of the head. It must be James. Beside him was a girl with long, curled auburn hair. Her hand was on James' shoulder and she learned in closer. Lily. It was his mother! Now he just had to see their faces. He would have to wait until the sorting.

The table erupted in cheers and Harry realized the first girl must have been sorted into Gryffindor. He watched a sweet little blonde girl walk to the Gryffindor table and immediately be enveloped in hugs and high-fives from her new housemates. Now that was the Gryffindor Harry remembered.

"Abbot, Jacob." Professor McGonagall called. A dark haired boy walked nervously to the stool. He sat and gripped the edges of the stool like his life depended on it. A moment later—

"RAVENCLAW!" Exclaimed the hat and the violet table jumped to their feet in cheers and whistles.

The room seemed to grow in excitement and anticipation with every name and every sorting. The Slytherins boo'ed the sorting of a new Gryffindor and the Gryffindors boo'd the addition of a new Slytherin. The Marauders were very enthusiastic in this and Harry smiled. Nothing had changed. He just wished James or Lily would turn around, damn it!

Finally, the last first year joined the Hufflepuff table to loud cheers from his peers. Harry breathed. This was it. He was going to sit by his parents, he planned. He could see it, there was an empty—

"Fletcher, Harry!" said Professor McGonagall.

It was his time! Every student turned to look at the new transfer student. Harry wished he could stare at Gryffindor table, but he also didn't want to make a bad first impression by tripping and falling on his face, so he forced himself to look forward as he strode up the long aisle to the sorting hat.

His heart was pounding so loud he would be surprised if no one else could hear it. He sat nervously on the stool. In the same breath he spotted him.

James.

He was even more amazing than Harry had pictured. He looked so much like Harry. They had the same hair, though James' was a little longer. Same nose, same smile. James' jaw was broader, though, and Harry would bet he was taller. Tan, broad shouldered, toned, and as impressive as everyone had said he was. His eyes were grinning as he watched Harry curiously. Their eyes locked for one moment—green eyes met hazel and Harry's heart thudded in his chest, before James looked away. Harry was trying—and failing—to be calm. So many emotions flew through his mind and heart. It was his dad. He had only ever seen pictures of the man and now he was here.

And beside him—-

Lily.

Her smile was warm and friendly and her hair framed her beautiful heart shaped face. It was her. There were his green eyes. She was so young and for a second it blew Harry's mind how much could change in a matter of years. She was going to get married, have a baby, and die before her twenty-first birthday. If only they knew. But Harry could never tell them.

Suddenly the prefect placed the hat on Harry's head. Harry's hands were jittery and he rubbed his palms together. He struggled to keep his face blank as a voice filled his mind.

_Ah – what do we have here?_ The hat said. _A time traveler!_ The hat searched his memories. _The chosen one! How fascinating. I have sorted you once before, I see._ Pause. _But of course, The Boy Who Lived was sorted into Gryffindor. Where else for the poster child of the light? However, you are no longer as light as you would have others believe._

Harry froze. Not because it was wrong but because it was the first to say it.

_You seem so surprised. While most only see the surface, The-Boy-Who-Lived, I see everything. Every thought, every desire, every weakness. I have seen into the mind of every wizard and witch in Great Britain, yet none have intrigued me so much as yours. I will grant that you possess an extraordinary amount of bravery. That is why you fight, after all, even in the midst of this war. You are brave and above all you are good. But I also see that you have been hiding things lately. From everyone, and most especially from those you love. You want to win and you want to win so badly you will do anything to do so._

Harry's eyes narrowed. _I only do what I have to._

_Exactly_. The hat said. _And that, Harry, makes all the difference._

_What are you saying?_ Harry demanded.

_I'm saying you are no longer who you think you are._

_No! I'm Gryffindor's heir._ Harry stated. _I pulled out Gryffindor's sword. It doesn't get more Gryffindor than this._

_You were a Gryffindor once yes, but the war has changed you, Harry._

_Wars tend to do that._ Harry told it testily.

_I must then amend my decision-_

Harrys eyes widened. "Oh shit—"

_I have to say—_

Not Slytherin, not Slytherin—

"SLYTHERIN!"

The hats voice echoed throughout the grand hallway. The Slytherin table erupted in cheers. The Gryffindor's table booed, but there were only a few faces Harry cared about. James and Sirius booed the loudest of all, hands cupped in a megaphone. Harry's heart dropped and it suddenly seemed like he was watching his life through a glass. All of his carefully laid plans hung in the balance of this decision. He looked from table to table, and shook his head.

"No, I'm going to Gryffindor." Harry growled.

_Whatever you say._

_I'm not moving until you say Gryffindor!_

_This will be a long night, then._

_They killed my family!_

_Not yet._

_You're wrong!_

_I am never wrong, Harry._

"Mr. Fletcher!" Harry looked up into Albus Dumbledore's calculating eyes. "Please join your housemates at the Slytherin table." Dumbledore said.

Harry looked out into the student body. His blood ran cold. This was not the plan.

"Mr. Fletcher." Dumbledore said and though his voice was light, Harry understood he would not repeat himself again.

The students stared at him in confusion and the room suddenly became very quiet. Only Harry's breathing seemed to fill the hall.

Harry's mind raced through options. He could demand a resorting. He could go to the Gryffindor table anyway. He could talk to Dumbledore and insist that something had gone TERRIBLY wrong here and there was no way he could be in Slytherin. But he was supposed to be a transfer student, who shouldn't know anything. The hat had declared him a Slytherin. He had no choice but to join them or else risk his cover.

A pin drop would have exploded in the silence of the hall. He took the hat off his head and stood warily. Harry had a sudden desire to light the hat on fire, but he fought it and carefully placed the traitorous thing on the stool. Hundreds of eyes followed him as he began the walk towards the Slytherin table. The Slytherins applauded halfheartedly, accompanied by a few Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and the new Gryffindors who didn't know better, but no one knew what to make of this student who had refused the sorting hat.

Mutterings broke out across the hall as students began to speculate.

"Blimey, what took him so long?" "Doesn't look happy, does he?"

"SHH!"

Teenagers in green robes eyed him warily as he approached the Slytherin table. Following tradition, the students cleared him an opening with his year. Harry would rather they didn't. Familiar faces greeted him and Harry's fingers itched towards his wand. He sat down, jaw clenched, eyes down, as their faces filled his peripheral vision.

There were too many familiar faces.

At the head table, Dumbledore stood once more, cheerily trying to overcome the negative energy that no one understood. "Thank you everyone and congratulations to our students! And now, for the moment we are anxiously awaiting – bon a petit!"

Dumbledore clapped twice and food appeared on the tables. Roast beef, pork chops, lamb chops, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, peas, Yorkshire pudding, and an assortment of deserts. Harry even spotted flaming kiwi cups. Delicious smells filled the air and floated all the way up to the candles above. But not even flaming kiwi cups could help Harry now. The beautiful food seemed out of place next to such unseemly company.

Students began talking again and the hall buzzed with excited exclamations of 'pass the potatoes" and forks crashing on porcelain.

"Finally!" exclaimed a massive boy to Harry's right, whose neck was so thick it was the width of his head.

Across the table from Harry, a vivacious girl glared at a tall dark haired boy. "Thanks for the letters this summer, Rodolphus. I really enjoyed hearing from you."

"Oh, come now, Bell-"

Harry's eyes landed on the girl. She had wild, dark, curly hair and could have been beautiful if Harry hadn't known. He would recognize those eyes anywhere. It was Bellatrix Lestrange. A surge of hatred rushed through him. She had killed his last shot at family.

And the boy next to her. Tall, clean cut, handsome. He articulated every consonant like a boy in a speech contest. Harry knew the type. Pure blood and proud of it. Steel blue eyes smiled at Bellatrix and Harry tried not to vomit.

"I was busy! You know that-"

"Busy. You were on holiday!"

And two students to the left sat Harry's favorite person. The teenage Snape's inky black hair jumped around his pallid face and his hooked nose dominated his profile. Dark eyes studied Harry like a beetle about to be dissected but when he noticed Harry looking his direction, he looked away. Harry couldn't help remembering—

_"Severus . . ." Dumbledore was pleading, the moonlight silhouetting him in the tower window._

_Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face._

_"Severus . . . please . . ."_

_Severus raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore._

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Harry clenched his fists. This face was younger and less stressed, but it was the same.

Harry looked at the Gryffindors in frustration, then to Dumbledore. How could this have happened? The room felt wrong, like it was backwards, and every time he got a glimpse of his parents someone got in the way. He tried to ignore all the chatter around him (death eaters discussing holiday) and fingered his wand, ready to go if need be.

To avoid conversation, he served himself some dinner and borrowed someone's Daily Prophet. Harry quickly skimmed for news, trying to feel some resemblance of control over his life and trying desperately to ignore the faces around him.

There was nothing pleasant: 72 Dead and 30 Injured in Recent Death Eater Attack; 5 Ways to Keep Your Family Safe; All You Need to Know About You-Know-Who. Harry paused here.

A full-page color photo of Voldemort stared forebodingly up at Harry, but this wasn't the Voldemort Harry knew. This was a handsome man standing before a burning building, his hair well-groomed, his nose straight, his eyes handsome and dark. Harry felt a chill go down his spine. He had always wondered why so many pretentious purebloods followed the creep — now he knew. Voldemort was one of them. This was how Voldemort had risen to power. Here he was a charismatic leader that fought for a new world. Harry glanced up at his peers then across to his parents.

The feud here was more than just rivalry. It was war as soon as they graduated.

Harry's eyes lingered on the Marauders across the hall. He could see Sirius grinning widely as he spoke, gesturing broadly to laughter from everyone around him. Remus rolled his eyes beside him and Peter chimed in every so often. James and Lily had their backs to him (again), but Harry felt the photo in his pocket and knew their smiles were only a room away.

He just needed to get there. Harry pursed his lips, and then out of the corner of his eye, saw Snape move. Harry glanced over instinctively. The boy had loaded a heaping plate of dinner and was standing, his eyes eyes skittering from side to side as if he was afraid someone might see him.

What, was he afraid someone might steal his food? Harry thought vindictively, as Snape slid out of the Great Hall, shoulders hunched, himself invisible. Not a single student acknowledge Scape's exit. Harry wondered at that, but not very much. It felt like an eternity until Dumbledore stood to thank the house elves for another magnificent meal, Harry glared up at the bearded man. He and Dumbledore needed to talk. Dumbledore gave the start-of-term announcements before dismissing the students to their dormitories. The hall filled with the sounds of chairs moving and students rising.

Harry however, had one goal and shot to his feet as soon as he saw Dumbledore stand. The students around him stared. "I need to speak to the headmaster." Harry said, his eyes fixated on the old man. "I'll be back."

"Someone's in a hurry." A skinny blonde boy remarked snidely, his voice fading as Harry shot away from the Slytherins.

Honestly, this entire situation was ridiculous. Harry Potter sorted into Slytherin? The entire wizarding world would roll over in their graves if they knew. This was a mistake and Dumbledore would correct it. Harry spotted Professor Dumbledore dawdling on the stairs, surrounded by professors and students who lined to greet him.

"Harry, my boy!" Dumbledore greeted at Harry's arrival.

"Professor." Harry said urgently. He glanced around to see if any one else was in earshot before continuing. "There's been a mistake. I'm not a Slytherin."

"Aren't you?" Dumbledore twined his fingers together. "I'm afraid you're talking to the wrong person, Harry. You should be talking to the hat." Dumbledore gestured to the hat, which sat innocently on the stool.

"I did." Harry insisted. "It wouldn't listen!"

"Then perhaps you should listen." Dumbledore commented. "Perhaps you are more a Slytherin than you realize. And perhaps it will benefit more than just you if you join this exclusive community, if only for a little while."

"But Professor-"

"Why don't you go spend time with your house mates, Harry? They seem to have grown quite fond of you." Dumbledore gestured grandly towards Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix Black, and the other seventh-year Slytherins, who were standing at the table some five meters away, talking amongst themselves and glancing at Harry in between. Harry looked at them, and then stared at Dumbledore incredulously.

"Don't you know who they are?"

"Of course I do! Now, why don't I introduce you to the Slytherin prefect." Dumbledore took Harry by the shoulder, gently, but firmly enough that Harry knew he was being steered, and quickly crossed the space between them and the Slytherins.

"Hello, boys." Dumbledore greeted jovially as they approached. The seventh years looked on warily, like a basilisk was saying hello, and Harry spotted the glittering prefect badge on Lestrange's breast. Harry's frustration at Dumbledore soared. What was he doing? Harry loved the man, but this moment was ridiculous. When Harry got back to his time—

"You have already met Harry, have you not?" Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"We've spoken, yes." Lestrange answered, his expression never changing. The other boys exchanged looks and the Slytherin on the right folded his arms, causing his biceps to bulge like water balloons. Harry briefly wondered how mortified this future Death Eater would be if he knew Harry had witnessed him flexing in high school. He and Harry met eyes by accident but the Slytherin played it off and looked past him instead.

"Ah, wonderful! Harry," Dumbledore turned to Harry as if telling him some great secret. "These are some of the best and the brightest of Slytherin house. You are in good hands."

Harry glanced skeptically at the group of Slytherin boys then despairingly at Gryffindor house. He had one fleeting view of James and Lily as they walked out of the Great Hall before they disappeared through the doors.

"Thank you, Professor." Lestrange said, the most cordial of the group.

"You are very welcome, Rodolphus. I entrust him to you! Don't worry Harry, they will take good care of you." The old man glanced at Lestrange and Harry knew Dumbledore well enough to spot the warning behind the twinkle.

"Of course." Lestrange assured him.

"Then I am off! Lots to do tonight, you see. Until next time." Dumbledore said as he sauntered towards Professor Slughorn. Leaving Harry alone.

Harry braced himself and wondered if the Slytherins had dark marks beneath their robes. He forced himself not to look.

"Old wanker." The one with the muscles muttered.

"Careful." Harry growled. Lestrange folded his arms, eyes flashing, and the big guy shook his head at Harry incredulously.

"What are you, Dumbledore's long lost son?" He demanded.

Harry met his gaze coolly. "He's your headmaster. It's called respect."

The Slytherin walked straight up to Harry and Harry instinctively fingered his wand. The guy wasn't so much taller than Harry as he was bigger. Broad shoulders shot out from a thick muscled neck, flanked by arms the size of Harry's thighs, but months of physical training this past summer had left its mark on Harry and while he wasn't as huge as the Slytherin, he wasn't bad himself. And years of fighting adult Death Eaters meant these miniature ones didn't intimidate him. He didn't break eye contact with the Slytherin and waited for him to make the first move.

"Dumbledore," The Slytherin spit out each syllable like it was dirt, "is an old fool."

"Headmaster Dumbledore," Harry corrected hotly, not breaking eye contact. "Is the most powerful wizard to ever live." It was a jab and the Slytherins knew it. Bellatrix Black reached for her wand, but her friend beat her to it.

"You little shit-" The big Slytherin growled, his wand appearing from nowhere. Harry glared at him evenly, daring him to start a duel in the middle of the Great Hall, with all the Professors watching.

"Mulciber." Lestrange said calmly. Harry tensed, recognizing the name. Mulciber didn't look at Lestrange, but his wand arm paused. Harry and Mulciber stood, face to face, as Lestrange stepped forward in between them, his face framed by nose to nose silhouettes.

"He's new." Lestrange continued, looking at Harry's like he was a toddler. "He doesn't know how things work around here." Harry's jaw tightened in tension, but Mulciber brought down his wand.

Harry turned his glare to Lestrange, who continued: "In the meantime, let's not waste our evening on a child who doesn't know his place."

If Harry's glare pierced Lestrange, no one could tell. Lestrange turned and strode out of the Great Hall, the others following one by one. Mulciber was the last to leave and he straightened as he moved, as if he wanted Harry to remember his size.

Harry was left standing alone in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, hundreds of students around him but completely alone.

**A/N: Thanks for reading :) Don't forget to follow if you want updates! Next chapter coming next Sunday! **


	4. Lily's Secret

**A/N: Hello and welcome to the next chapter of STC! Tbh, I don't know how I feel about this chapter, so you'll have to let me know what you think. Do you like the James/Lily stuff? Is it slow? I'd love to know haha so as always, read and review and you'll make my day!**

**And one last thing about James- there will be some rough times with James in the next few chapters, but all my James Potter fans, don't worry, James is a big part of this book and there are some exciting, crazy times ahead. For James and Lily, and especially for James and Harry. :D Stay tuned.**

The sunlight glowed through the windows of Gryffindor tower as the 7th year girls unpacked for the night. The sorting feast had finished, Head Girl meetings were over, and now Lily Evans sat in the corner next to an open suitcase, her auburn hair tumbling down in waves, her robe casually open revealing a light turtleneck and jeans. Lily's friends Emmeline and Mary were with her, catching up, and Lily couldn't stop laughing as Emmeline told them about a blind date she'd had over the summer. It had been a long summer without them and Lily was relieved to be back in the magical world, with her friends where she belonged.

Emmeline sighed dramatically as she stuffed the last of her shirts in a drawer. "So yeah. That's the story of how I've sworn off dating forever." She ran her hand through her shiny brunette hair and put her hands on her hips.

On the other side of the room, Mary laughed and nodded enthusiastically. "That's crazy Em. I totally agree. Dating is the worst. I went out with this one guy over the summer, his name was Mark, and he was cute, like Sirius Black cute—"

"Dang." Emmeline said, impressed. Lily grinned and wondered when they would get to the part where she was dating James Potter.

"—but he took me on a five mile hike for our first date—" Mary continued.

"That sounds fun!" Emmeline said, leaning against her drawers.

"Yeah, for you!" Mary said, dumping a bag onto her bed and turning to give Emmeline a look. "I couldn't breath the whole time and then he kept trying to talk to me—"

"Oh no, talking." Lily joked and Emmeline started laughing.

"Yeah, yeah," Mary said, also laughing as she rolled her eyes. She folded a shirt and gave Lily a sly glance. "Whatever, miss I'm dating James Potter!"

"You mean, Lily Potter?" Emmeline said with a smirk.

"Nooooooo," Lily protested, laughing and shaking her head. "Oh come on, it's not like you don't know. I already told you guys everything in my letters!"

"Not everything!" Mary exclaimed. "Not the dirty details, like how was your first date? Does he write romantic love letters? Is he a good kisser?"

Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. "It was great, yes, and yes!"

"Oh my gosh! Lily Evans snogged James Potter!" Emmeline exclaimed excitedly.

"Em, no, SHHHHHHH!" Lily said, laughing, and looking over at the door.

"Okay, but you have to tell us the whole story, Lily. I mean, honestly it was so weird when you were sitting with him at dinner—" Emmeline said.

"All romantic, with his arm around your shoulders," Mary chimed in.

"Yeah, after the whole school is used to you yelling at each other." Emmeline continued.

"Tell me about it." Lily said, giving them both a dry look. "It's beyond weird. Every time I see him, I expect him to be the old James that we used to know. You know, the arrogant one. But he's different now. Something's changed." Lily smiled slightly and her mind went to James— his smile, his shoulders the way he talked—

"Awwww, loook she's blushing." Emmeline teased.

"For the record, I take a lot of credit for this." Mary declared. "If things hadn't gone badly last year, you guys wouldn't have made a connection."

Lily thought back to last year and didn't know how to feel. Last April, Mary had been alone coming home from the library when she was attacked by a few Slytherins and an unknown spell. Lily had found Mary during her prefect route, covered in blood. It was the scariest thing that had ever happened to Lily. Luckily, James had been in the hallway at the same time and had heard Lily's scream. He had helped Lily take Mary to the hospital wing. Mary didn't remember who had attacked her, but it wasn't hard to guess.

Luckily, there hadn't been any permanent damage. And it was true, Lily had gotten to know James better after that night. And he had been different than she had thought. He had been mature, and understanding, and kind— not the arrogant jerk she had known for six years.

Lily looked up at Mary and nodded. "It's true. Though I wish it didn't happen, Mar."

Mary's eyes turned a little solemn as she met Lily's eyes. "Yeah."

"Don't worry," Emmeline said. "I'm sure the Marauders have revenge on the forefront of their plans." Lily frowned a little, and then stopped herself. Why should she care?

Mary laughed. "Probably."

Lily glanced down at a shirt she was folding in her hands. Revenge on Severus Snape and his friend Mulciber. It was easy for Lily to hate Mulciber. He was one of the meaner Slytherins. It didn't surprise her at all.

But Severus?

Lily clenched her jaw. She was so angry— but not at him. At the stupid sorting hat for putting him into Slytherin. At the other Slytherins, for being horrible influences and dragging him down with them. At the—

Lily stopped herself for a moment, but she knew what she was feeling.

She was angry at the Marauders, for bullying him for six years and sabotaging any chances of Snape making better friends. Like me, Lily thought in the back of her mind.

It could have been so different. Everything could have been different.

Lily finished folding her shirt and slipped a finger into her pocket. She felt the corners of a piece of parchment she received on the train earlier. Same place, same time, it said. Only Lily knew what that meant.

Would she meet him tonight? This decision had been on her mind since the moment she received the parchment on the Hogwarts express. And Lily knew if she went, she would have to lie to James.

Her boyfriend.

Years ago, she would have hated herself for the thought of it. Herself dating James Potter. But things had really changed over the summer. Everything had been so easy then. Now things were complicated with too many people and their opinions.

But, Lily thought. She really did like him. And he seemed so mature. He had also told her at dinner he wanted to take her on a date tonight.

Lily glanced back up at Mary.

"Now," the dark haired girl said, "shall we go say hello to Lily's new boyfriend?" Mary winked at Lily, who rolled her eyes.

But as the three of them got ready to see the Marauders downstairs, Lily couldn't help but think about an old friend and the parchment in her pocket.

* * *

A floor below, sprawled on the couches by the Gryffindor fireplace, the Marauders continued their annual inventory of new students — or in other words future quidditch players. James took the loveseat, one arm on the chair and the other holding a butterbeer, his black hair gleaming in the firelight. Across from him, Sirius lazily leaned against the corner of the couch, a butterbeer in each hand. Beside him sat Peter, leaned forward and engaged, and Remus, casual but cool, holding a chocolate bar. A few girls ogled at them from the far side of the room, but James pretended not to notice.

"Fifteen new recruits!" Remus announced with a grin, the firelight dancing on his face. James grinned at Remus in reply, lifting his butterbeer dramatically. They had all finished unpacking and were now spending their official first evening at Hogwarts relaxed in the Gryffindor Common room. James had a few more minutes before he was supposed to meet Lily for their date. James ran through his mental checklist one more time (venue, blankets, food, sparkling cider, dramatic lighting—check!) before leaning back into the couch. Everything was done, of course. He had done this a thousand times. So why was he so nervous?

He glanced over as Peter grinned boyishly and continued. "And Slytherin only got eleven!"

With one hand, Sirius popped open his can of Butterbeer with a loud pchhhhhh. "Poor little snakes." He said, shaking his head in mock sympathy and locking eyes with Peter. "They're screwed without a seeker, and now they have barely anyone to choose from."

"They did get a seventh year though." Remus pointed out, looking at the other three Marauders in turn.

"They'd need a lot of those to even the playing field." Sirius said, rolling his eyes at the idea and taking a loud sip.

"What's his name? Fotcher?" James said, furrowing his eyebrows, and trying to remember the guy. He had been weird. A normal enough looking dude, but the way he had stared at Gryffindor table was beyond strange.

"Fletcher." Remus corrected absently, stroking his chin.

"Did you see the way he was staring at us?" Peter said, glancing between everyone. James nodded.

"He looks like someone died!" Sirius joked.

"He almost did when he got sorted into Slytherin." James said with a grin, thinking to the awkward moment when the hat shouted Slytherin and the new kid refused.

"Poor bloke." Sirius grinned back at James, his eyes mischievous. "Knows what's coming."

James laughed and jerked his chin up in agreement, but his eyes betrayed him and glanced around. He knew what he was looking for. He was checking to see if Lily had heard them. He didn't see her though, so he forced himself to relax and take another sip of butterbeer.

"As long as he doesn't play quidditch." James commented, his mind still on Lily. Seven years. It had taken seven years to get to this moment. A real date with Lily Evans.

Deep down, he knew that was why he was so nervous. He did this specific date a lot— but never with a girl he actually liked. Never with a girl that would think to turn him down.

But Lily Evans was different. And he knew that. That's why tonight needed to be perfect. Tonight needed to overcome six years of her hating him.

Tonight needed to overcome everyone in this whole freaking castle thinking he was crazy for dating her.

James' gaze shifted to the fire, as the Marauders kept talking. The thing was, he knew exactly why it had taken so long for them to make a connection.

The Marauders were notorious for their pranks and Lily was notorious for shutting them down. That was part of the reason he liked her, if James was being honest. She was just so good.

The problem was, she had a soft spot for Slytherins. One Slytherin in particular, James thought darkly (though he had no idea why after the accident with Mary last year).

Only hours ago, he had opened a letter from his father (who wrote him every year on his first night at Hogwarts) detailing the last Death Eater raid he'd battled. James' father was an Auror and kept James pretty in the loop as far as his life went. This time there was a raid on a hospital. Three died, fifteen injured, and a horrible Slytherin dark mark cast above the building. James father had mentioned the Death Eaters present: Donahue, Carrow, and Lestrange.

So yeah. James wouldn't feel bad when he pranked Lestrange and his Death Eater friends this week. And while he really liked Lily— he only felt bad that for now, that was all he could do.

Suddenly, James heard steps coming down the stairs and three girls appeared on the stairwell. Lily Evans, Emmeline Vance, and Mary McDonald. At the sight of them, Sirius grinned and waved them over. James perked up as he saw Lily. She looked straight at him and her smile was bright and contageous. He couldn't help but smile back as they locked eyes in that way that couples do in public.

"Oi, Vance, you ready to kick some Slytherin butt this year?" Sirius called out. James grinned and leaned back. Emmeline played chaser with him on the Quidditch team, and she was one of their best.

"You know it!" She hollered back as the girls approached the back of Marauders' couch. "When are tryouts?"

"Tomorrow night, 7PM." James (this year's Quidditch Captain) announced dramatically, standing and walking over to his girlfriend. He slipped an arm around Lily casually and felt her lean into his chest. He looked around the room and lifted his butterbeer in a grand flourish. "This year is OURS BABY."

The room cheered and James grinned at them all. As the energy died down, James decided to segue: "And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am off to take the astonishingly beautiful Lily Evans—" he felt Lily laugh beside him, "—on a night she will never forget. We'll be back later." He grinned at Sirius and winked. "Don't wait up."

"Ow ow!" Sirius cheered loudly. Lily glanced up at James, but he only grinned and waved as he began to steer them both towards the fat lady's portrait.

"So where are we going?" Lily asked when they made it to the hallway. James let his hand fall from her shoulder to casually twine his fingers in hers. She had changed, he noticed, and now wore a form fitting turtleneck and jeans. Her skin was soft, her eyes smiled as she looked up at him, and in that moment James couldn't be happier.

James winked at her. "You'll see."

Minutes later, James and Lily arrived at their destination: The astronomy tower, the most romantic getaway at Hogwarts. As James had arranged, the lights were dimmed and a single table stood in the center of the tower with an ivory tablecloth, porcelain dishes, and red roses in the center. James smiled broadly at Lily as he led her to the table and pulled out her chair. She was smiling widely and James assumed that meant she was impressed. As he took his seat, there was a crack to their right, and a house elf appeared.

"Sir and my lady," the elf said regally, bowing to Lily. James grinned and leaned back. Right on script. He glanced over at Lily to see how she was taking it.

Lily was smiling but it wasn't the smile James usually saw. Her smile was — amused? She shook her head at the elf.

"Thank you, Nolly." She smiled. James glanced at her. She knew this elf?

Still smiling, Lily leaned back and folded her arms."So." She began, eyes glittering. "How many girls have you taken on this date?"

James stared at her, caught off guard. "Oh, you know. A couple." He said. A couple dozen, he thought, but Lily would never know that.

"James." Lily said, shaking her head as she looked at him. "I don't want to be just another girl you snog in the astronomy tower."

James leaned forward in an instant, moving the roses out of the way so he could see her. "Of course not, Lily. You're not that."

"Then what are you doing?" She asked.

"Treating a beautiful girl to a fancy evening." James said easily, giving her his winning smile.

Lily stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. James stared back, still smiling, unsure what to do. This never happened. He'd used this line a million times. Girls always swooned and then snogged him even more later. It was foolproof.

But this was Lily Evans, his mind whispered. Everything was different with her.

She met his eyes and smiled as she stood up. He stared at her as she came over to his side of the table.

"James." She said, her voice soft, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He looked up into her emerald eyes and she carefully sat on his lap. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Lily." He said back, projecting confidence but inwardly very confused.

"I don't want this." She said, gesturing at the room and then to him. "The fancy astronomy tower, the cookie-cutter date, the sauve, smooth James Potter who can get any girl in the school." She wiggled her eyebrows as she said his name and looked into his eyes. "I want you. The kind, smart, thoughtful guy I got to know this summer. Who loves his friends. Who I can talk to for hours. That's the James Potter I want to date."

James stared at her for a moment. Her auburn curls contrasted beautiful against the color of her skin. Her green eyes were kind and her pink lips tilted up in a smile. "Lily." James began. "I'm still the same person I was this summer. This," he gestured around them, "doesn't change anything."

Lily studied him for a moment. "I know, I just—" She paused. "I don't want to be just another girl to you." She glanced at him. "I don't want to feel like another astronomy tower hookup."

It was a testament to James' confidence that he wasn't offended. "Don't worry, Lils." He said. "You're not. This is different." He smiled at her and leaned forward until their lips nearly met. "This is real." He whispered, leaning in for a kiss. After a few minutes, he leaned away again. "But I don't want you to feel like you are. So, let's go somewhere else."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

James nodded. "Absolutely. You lead the way."

Lily thought for a moment and then smiled brightly at him.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at a small, circular door two corridors north and five staircases down. James glanced at her, curious. Lily knocked brightly and gave James a wink. Seconds later, the door swung open.

James eyebrows shot up. It was a house elf.

"Lily!" The elf exclaimed joyously, running to Lily and wrapping its arms around her calves. James' jaw nearly dropped. Lily only smiled and patted the thing's shoulders affectionately.

"Blue!" Lily beamed. "Mind if we come in?"

"Mistress Lily is always welcome," the elf cried. Lily gave James a smile and took his hand, leading him through the doorway and into what looked like the Hogwarts kitchens. All around them, house elves cooked, baked, canned, jammed, and prepared so many different types of food. James looked around like a kid at Zonko's Joke Shop.

"The Hogwarts kitchens?" He exclaimed incredulously.

Lily grinned at him. "Only the most amazing place at Hogwarts." She turned back to her friend, the house elf. "Hey Blue, would you mind getting us a place of chocolate chip cookies and the usual?"

The elf nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, ma'am, certainly, ma'am!"

Lily took James' hand again and pulled him over to a cute blue booth. They both took a seat on the same side and Lily turned to smile at him. "I found this place my second year at Hogwarts. Blue showed me."

"It's amazing." James said, still looking around.

Blue suddenly appeared with a large yellow plate of warm cookies followed by two wine glasses full of milk. Lily thanked Blue as James laughed and gave Lily a look.

"The usual?" He teased.

Lily grinned, picking up one of the glasses and taking a sip of milk. "When I was younger, my mom would give us milk in wine glasses to make it feel fancy. Then we would sit on the kitchen floor and talk until all of life's problem would go away."

James contemplated that, before picking up his glass of milk and swishing it around. "Your mom sounds really cool." He said genuinely, thinking of his parents. James was an only child so he got a lot of his parents attention. He could never picture his mother sitting on the floor. She was all about manners and "proper behavior". He glanced around at the kitchen, at the house elves, at the plate of cookies, and finally at the beautiful girl sitting beside him. This was nice. Relaxing and authentic. And so perfectly Lily.

He smiled at her, more relaxed than he'd been in ages, and picked up a cookie. "So. Tell me about your mum." He said, taking a bite.

Lily smiled at him and shifted so her foot was intertwined around his. James' smile deepened and somehow he felt happier here than he'd ever been snogging girls in the astronomy tower. And as she told him about her mum and asked him about his, he connected more with her than he had anyone else in a very long time.

It wasn't until several hours later, at about 11:45PM, that Lily told him she needed to head to bed. They walked back to Gryffindor tower, talking and holding hands. James kissed her goodnight and watched her walk up the stairs to the girls dormitory. And before he headed up to meet the Marauders, he couldn't help but smile.

* * *

A castle away from James, Harry had a much less enjoyable night. After hours of waiting outside the Gargoyle at Dumbledore's office, McGonagall had arrived only to kick him out. Harry had explained his predicament, but she had had little sympathy for him. Harry had been forced to hide out in the library, furious at Dumbledore for not only pawning him off to the Slytherins, but disappearing for the entire freaking night.

Midnight found Harry equal parts irritated and exhausted— and wondering how long he would make it if he decided to sleep in the room of requirement. Losing his patience, he slammed a title shut and glared at the resultant poof of dust.

The place was quiet this time of night, the lamps dim amidst hundreds of books. Harry slowly realized that the sun had long set and the chances of him reaching Dumbledore tonight had gone with it.

He was a Slytherin.

He would have to sleep in the Slytherin dormitories.

He would have to share a room with Death Eaters.

He would have to share a room with Snape.

Harry shelved the book forcefully and tried not to think of what that meant. What had happened? Hadn't Dumbledore promised him three months of time with his parents? Not three months trapped in the dungeons. Harry repeated Dumbledore's words again in his head. Dumbledore had apologized and offered to make up for past mistakes. He would never intentionally trap Harry here.

But even as Harry held on to that, he knew Dumbledore had said he remembered Harry being here. Which meant he would have remembered Harry getting sorted into Slytherin. And he didn't mention it to Harry, which meant it had to get resolved. Right?

Harry's thoughts wandered to Gryffindor tower and he imagined the Marauders, Lily, and the other students sitting in the common room, catching up on their summers. Damn it, he could have been there!

Harry wandered out of the restricted section and passed the current events. He had already read them all— newspapers detailing Voldemort's rise. Here the headlines dated back to 1966, when things first began to ramp up.

"MAN FROM LONDON DECLARES HIMSELF LORD VOLDEMORT" one had read, with a photo of a handsome man in a suit to accompany it. Harry didn't have to read the caption to know it was Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Next:

"THE FUTURE OF MAGIC IN DANGER. SO-CALLED LORD VOLDEMORT DECLARES MUGGLEBORNS ARE DILUTING MAGIC".

"SNAKE INSPIRED "DARK MARK" FOUND OVER HOSPITAL; 3 DEAD, 15 INJURED".

All the same gloomy news, full of Death Eater attacks and attention-seeking headlines. The words of the prophecy danced around the back of Harry's mind.

Neither can live while the other survives . . .

Harry lived ten years later and Voldemort still wasn't defeated. How was Harry supposed to do what years of Aurors couldn't? What Dumbledore couldn't?

A wave of exhaustion hit him. He was so tired of the war. Tired of being the one in the prophecy.

Well, Harry thought. If anything had gone right in this time, it was that no one knew he was Harry Potter. Even the Death Eaters didn't know.

Harry wished it was more reassuring.

His feet led him out of the library and into the long stone hallway. The silence of the corridor was eerie and all Harry could hear was the soft rustling of his robes and the taps of his feet. He glanced around the dark castle warily, his wand on the tips of his fingers should anything go wrong.

Should he get caught, he mentally corrected himself. It was just Filch. The worst that could happen was detention. He needed to chill. Right now he was just another student.

Suddenly the hair on his neck rose and Harry froze as whispers crescendoed through the hallway. Instinctively, he ducked behind a massive statue. It was midnight. Who would be out past curfew? The Marauders? Harry perked up a little.

"If you'd just listen to me—" It was a man's voice, silky, baritone, and pleading.

"I said cut it out." A woman's. Frustrated and resigned. And getting louder. Harry shifted so he could see between the statue's arm and torso and watched a couple come closer.

Suddenly they came into the light and Harry inhaled sharply. None other than Lily Evans stood a meter away. Her auburn hair lay down in curls and her green eyes glittered with irritation. Harry had never seen her upset and for a second he just stared in surprise. Her arms were folded and she was glaring into the hallway, hips tilted, feet solid on the ground. Harry glanced at his watch — it was midnight. What was she doing out so late? Surely she wasn't talking to James.

Another teenager stepped into the aisle and Harry's eyes widened.

It was Severus Snape.

The slimy Slytherin outcast was having a secret meeting with— Harry's mother?

Snape crossed to hover perpendicular to Lily, clearly frustrated that she wouldn't look at him. He shifted back and forth like he didn't know where to stand and his dark eyebrows furrowed so close they nearly touched. His robes were worn, ill fitting, and open and for the first time Harry could see a tattered muggle band T-shirt underneath. Harry frowned in confusion and couldn't believe what he was seeing. He wracked his brain for information — didn't Snape call her a mudblood a few years ago? He couldn't remember anyone else ever mentioning that Snape and Lily even spoke to each other.

The silence was painful and for the first time in Harry's life, Snape's face was an open book. Anger flashed in his eyes, then frustration, then something like pain, then anger again. Harry had never seen so much emotion in him, and he suddenly remembered months of Occlumency lessons with Snape yelling at him for showing too much emotion. The sight of Snape, now open, vulnerable, and human, seemed surreal. Abruptly, the Slytherin stepped away and glared up at the ceiling.

"I never imagined you this way." He spit out bitterly. "Potter's new plaything while he saunters around and plays hero."

Lily spun around fiercely and glared. "I am no one's plaything," She spit out. "And I'd rather play hero than be the villain."

Now Harry expected one of Snape's classic lines, but a shadow passed through his eyes. Hurt. Another emotion Harry had never imagined on Snape's face. "Lily— that spell was never supposed to be used! It was only a spell, until Mulciber—Lily, I swear, I didn't know she would be there!"

"It doesn't matter, Severus, what are you doing creating spells like that in the first place!" Lily snapped. "It's evil! And what am I supposed to think when you're friends with him? He kills 'mudbloods' like me!" She looked at him furiously.

"Don't say that word." Snape snapped, with a stricken look on his face. Harry glanced at Snape in confusion. "You're not—"

"What, Severus? Dirty, impure, inferior—"

"You don't understand—" Snape said, shaking his head and stepping closer.

"Disgusting, never should've been born—" She spit out, backing away from him.

"Stop!" Snape snapped.

"Leave it, Severus." Lily said, her emerald eyes sparkling with anger. "I'm through with you and your double standards."

"Then why did you come tonight, Lily?" Snape said, pleading eyes staring into hers. Lily stared at him, at a loss for words and for a moment Harry thought she might soften. But she suddenly stepped away from him, folding her arms harshly and looking at the floor.

"To tell you I'm through." She said. Snape's face fell and his eyes pleaded for her to change her mind. She didn't look up from the floor. "Goodbye, Snape."

Calling Snape by his last name seemed to crush him more than anything. Lily turned to walk away.

"No, Lily, please—"

She was saved from replying by a great cracking sound.

Harry's eyes widened in panic as the ground began to rotate out from under him. Lily and Snape turned his direction and in less than a second, the statue had rotated him into view. Harry exhaled nervously as he stood in front of Lily and Snape. He glanced at Lily. Her eyes were wide with shock and fear and she could only stare at him. Snape stood frozen in place as panic flicked across his face.

"Fletcher." Snape growled, reaching for his wand. Instinctively, Harry fingered his but before he could react, a loud woosh rushed out of the wall behind Harry. The force threw Harry off balance and his eyes widened. Peeves!

"Peeves stopping, Eavesdropping," The poltergeist cackled, flying circles over their heads and dropping dungbombs everywhere.

"Peeves!" Lily exclaimed, coughing through the smoke and stumbling back towards the wall. Snape looked at Lily in alarm to see if she was okay. Harry took advantage of the chaos and booked it down the corridor, ducking into the next dark hallway.

As the smoke began to fade, Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. What the hell was Snape doing with Harry's mother alone at night? And where was James?

Suddenly, footsteps approached again and Harry ducked himself behind a statue. Someone walked in, his breathing ragged and his eyes broken.

Snape.

Harry cursed his luck and tried to breath as quietly as possible.

Now just a few meters away, Snape staggered to the wall and sagged to the floor. His eyes were full of hurt and Harry felt extremely uncomfortable. He glanced left and right for an escape but didn't dare move until Snape left.

The Slytherin let his head fall between his knees for a few moments, collecting his breath, before he lifted it again, his face wiped of all emotion. He abruptly stood up and made to leave — but then he paused.

Eyes squinting behind sticky black bangs, he looked at the statue where Harry hid. Harry froze in place, praying this one didn't move.

Snape walked closer until he stood just less than a meter from Harry, staring at the stone like it had personally wronged him. Harry didn't dare breathe.

But just like that, the moment was over. Snape shook his head and turned the other direction. Harry let out a relieved breath as Snape disappeared down the blackened corridor, heading farther and farther away from the girl he loved and her son.

* * *

Harry booked it to the Slytherin common room, taking a different direction and praying he wouldn't run into Snape. Who knew what the Slytherin would do after seeing Harry listening in on him and Lily.

The Slytherin common room was guarded by a dark stone door engraved with serpents, and Harry's heart pounded as he approached it.

The air was musty this deep in the castle and torches lined the walls with jumpy light that made shapes appear out of nowhere. Finding the entrance wasn't the problem (he had been there before to spy on Draco Malfoy). The problem was all the Death Eaters behind it. And the fact that Harry didn't know the password.

Harry's fingers tightened on his wand. At least at this time of night, most students would be asleep. Snape was the only one Harry knew would still be awake.

Harry pictured Snape and his mother and almost lost his resolve to go in.

The thing was, though, the only way to endure the night was to get to his bed.

Harry glared at the door, channeling all his frustration at Snape. "Pureblood." He said in a low voice, glancing left and right, hoping Snape wouldn't appear. "Dark Arts. Muggleborn. Snake. Serpent. Open."

Nothing.

Harry's glare intensified and all the day's frustration surfaced. "I said let me in!"

Nothing.

"I said, open!" He whispered furiously. He froze as he realized that it had not been words that came out, but a hiss. Harry's heart pounded in his chest as he was hit with a surge of adrenaline. If anybody had seen— Harry looked around sharply for a bystander or a snake but the halls were still empty. He turned back to see a writhing form rotate on the wall and the damp stone shifted to reveal the entrance to the Slytherin common room. His breathing shaky, Harry took one more look around before he stepped inside.

The room was nice and ornate, with a warm fireplace in the corner flanked by deep green arm chairs and assorted seating throughout. The left wall was completely glass and looked straight into Hogwarts lake. At night it was black and creepy and Harry tried to ignore it as he looked for the dormitory entrance. He once again remembered who slept upstairs.

Rodolphus Lestrange, who tortured Neville's parents to insanity.

Bellatrix Black who killed her cousin Sirius.

Alecto Carrow, who led the attack on Hogwarts after Dumbledore's death.

Mulciber, who fought Harry in the department of mysteries.

And Severus Snape, the wizard who killed Albus Dumbledore and who apparently used to be best friends with Harry's mum.

Harry forced himself to focus. He arrived at the dormitories in a few long strides and braced himself as he approached the door to his. Now what were the chances his roommates were asleep?

Harry winced as he opened the door.

His first roommate was Lestrange. The boy slept haphazardly on the bed in the far corner, with his own comforter and pillows from home (he was probably too good for the Hogwarts ones) and a little pet cactus on the top shelf — a plant that painfully reminded Harry of Neville Longbottom. Harry's gaze lingered on it for only a second before he forced himself to look away.

Mulciber was next. He was reading a magazine, covered in blankets, with band posters plastered the wall behind him, an energy drink on the floor, and a skeleton hand laying next to it. He glanced up disdainfully as Harry walked in, but Harry stubbornly ignored him and Mulciber did the same.

The last bed, fortunately, was very much empty. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed his pajamas, and ducked onto his bed as fast as he could. He had just barely closed his curtains when the door opened. Severus Snape slowly walked in, his black eyes accusing. They pinned Harry through the curtains.

Harry didn't mean to meet his stare, but Harry's luck only turned out when he was in mortal danger. Black eyes and hazel eyes stared at each other for only a second before Harry looked away, forcing himself to remember his curtains were charmed so Snape couldn't see in.

Snape stared at Harry's bed for a full five seconds before walking over to his own. Snape's robes were closed, but now Harry knew what were beneath them. A muggle t-shirt and jeans. Harry eyed him. Why was he wearing muggle clothes if he was such a stalwart Slytherin?

The words Half-Blood Prince came to the forefront of Harry's mind. Half-blood. Raised by a muggle? Harry didn't believe it.

But then again, Harry realized, no one here knew about Snape's midnight meetings with Lily. No way they would be okay with it.

Through the dim lights, Harry watched Snape climb into the bed and pull his curtains closed with the same flair he flipped his robes with twenty years in the future. Harry shook his head, shaking his mind free of the Slytherin, leaned back in his bed and glared at the dark green curtains that surrounded him. He silently cast a protective ward around the bed and glanced down at his cloak.

A fanged snake stared back from where the Gryffindor crest was supposed to be. Slytherin, it read in fancy silver cursive.

Harry gripped it tightly.

This wasn't him.

This place wasn't him.

He was a Gryffindor. He should have been there, dammit—he ran his hand through his hair in frustration, but even that wasn't the same. His hair was too straight, this bed was too green, this room was too filled with Death Eaters. His temper growing, he threw the Slytherin cloak to the foot of the bed, leaned back and folded his arms.

How had this had happened? How had he ended up in Slytherin? This would ruin everything! Now instead of rooming with James Potter, he was living with Severus Snape!

Snape, the only person Harry hated more than Voldemort. At least the 'Dark Lord' didn't pretend to be good. Snape was supposed to be good and then he went and murdered Dumbledore. Hell, he was the new Headmaster of Hogwarts! He had single handedly destroyed Harry's home. And now he was sleeping a brooms length away!

Harry closed his eyes in frustration and the words of the hat came to mind. The war has changed you, Harry.

Harry paused for a moment, suddenly realizing that he, Harry Potter, had been sorted into Slytherin. He had changed a lot in the past year, that was true but – no. The hat was crazy. He had requested Gryffindor the first time around but that didn't mean anything. He belonged in Gryffindor. He was no Slytherin.

He didn't belong here.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! If you liked it, feel free to leave a review and lmk know what you think! 3 Love ya. Stay safe. -Amyra9**


	5. Potions and Problems

**A/N: Happy Easter to all you wonderful people! And a huge THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed or followed the story! ****Sorry this is a tad late. It's been a crazy week full of roommate drama, end of semester projects, and trying not to fail at life. I'm in college, so everything is online now, meaning we never leave our apartment and it is SO HARD TO CARE ABOUT SCHOOL haha. But anyways, here is me not failing my classes and also posting the next chapter of STC! **

**Hope you all had a peaceful Easter and are staying safe out there!**

Early morning found Harry again at Dumbledore's office. Waking up this early had at least ensured his successful avoidance of his housemates. He knocked aggressively on Dumbledore's door and this time, the door opened.

"Why hello, Harry," Dumbledore greeted warmly, holding a golden cup of tea. "I thought I would be seeing you. Come in." Dumbledore's cheeriness only spiked Harry's temper, and he glared openly at Dumbledore, who opened the door widely and led Harry to his desk. Harry sat opposite him and gave the old man a frosty look. Dumbledore seemed off put by Harry's manners and frowned. "Now, how can I help you, my boy?"

Harry bristled at the my boy and cut straight to the chase.

"Professor, I know the hat sorted me into Slytherin. But I am a Gryffindor — I was sorted a Gryffindor when I was eleven and I drew Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the hat when I was twelve fighting a basilisk. There is no one — no one— more Gryffindor than me."

Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up at the word basilisk and he twined his fingers together thoughtfully.

"Mr. Fletcher, I understand if you are not satisfied with your sorting—" he began.

"Not. Satisfied." Harry interrupted slowly. Dumbledore's white eyebrows shot up. Clearly he was not used to being treated like this by students. "Not satisfied would be getting sorted into Hufflepuff. Not satisfied would be living in Gryffindor with my parents thinking I'm the strange new kid. But Slytherin? This must be a mistake. The entire reason I'm here is to live in Gryffindor Tower and get to know my parents!"

"Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said sharply. Harry went quiet but he didn't cool off. "I do not know our relationship in the future, but here you are my student and I am your headmaster. You will show me some respect."

Harry exhaled slowly. He had not expected for Dumbledore to fight back on this and to be quite honest, he was shocked at the rebuke. Dumbledore never chastened him. Hell, Harry had thrown things in his office during fifth year and Dumbledore had taken it. Harry was so used to being the Chosen One, whose opinions mattered, who could act as he pleased, that now that he was a regular student he was frustrated. Frustrated at this Dumbledore, and even more frustrated at his Dumbledore, who had failed to mention this essential detail.

Dumbledore waited for an apology. Harry glared back. He wasn't going to get one.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued. "Moreover, your request is quite peculiar."

"Peculiar?" Harry said, fighting his temper. "Perhaps you should read your letter again. Dumbledore must have mentioned this part of the plan."

"Mr. Fletcher." Dumbledore said sharply. Harry nodded in irritation. "The letter does mention your sorting. In exquisite detail, actually."

Harry nodded. "Excellent. Then you'll move me to Gryffindor?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Unfortunately, no." He said.

Harry leaned forward, his eyes narrow. "Explain." He said.

Dumbledore stiffly adjusted his spectacles and pulled the scroll out of his desk. "My future self seems to have more planned for your stay than just living with James Potter. I wrote that you would be sorted into Slytherin, that you would demand a resorting, and that under no circumstances should I move you into Gryffindor."

"What." Harry growled furiously. "That is not what you told me."

"The future me wrote that you will have an influence that goes far beyond merely meeting James. There are students in Slytherin house who need you."

"Students in Slytherin who—?" Harry almost laughed. "Professor, forgive me, but you have no idea who these students are. Who they will become. You cannot ask me to live with them, sleep in the same room as them, eat lunch with them— I can not. I will not."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed and his voice was cold. "Do not accuse me of ignorance, Mr. Fletcher. While I do not know the future-– I know my students. I know who their parents are and what they are doing. I know where they go and who wears a long sleeve shirt. But I also know that not all of them are lost. And if there is any hope of saving one, we must try. I know what I am asking you is great, Mr. Fletcher. I can only imagine what you have been through at their hands.

"And yet – we have been instructed to keep you in Slytherin by someone with more information than you or I. I do not pretend to know you, but it appears that you have an opportunity to do a great good amongst the Slytherin house. I know the students there are complex – but you owe it to yourself and the future of the entire wizarding world to think about why I would put you in Slytherin and honor that request."

Harry remained silent but his anger was building. He shook his head, stood up in frustration, and began to pace. "You told me I would get to know my parents." Harry accused.

"And you still can." Dumbledore said. "From Slytherin. It will not be easy. But it can be done."

"Have you met James?" Harry exclaimed. "He hates Slytherin!"

"The bonds of blood are thicker than you think." Dumbledore countered, twining his fingers together on the desk.

Harry stared at him incredulously and decided to try another route. "I need to be in Gryffindor tower to finish my mission."

"You're a Marauder's son. I am very confident that you will find a way." Dumbledore said, taking a sip of his tea.

"Are you telling me to break in?" Harry retorted.

"I'm not saying anything. But I were, I would be saying that Gryffindor's password is Flaming Kiwi Cups." Dumbledore said lightly.

Harry stared at this Dumbledore in betrayal, replaying his conversation with his Dumbledore over and over in his head. The headmaster had said he was trying to make up for letting Harry down. That Harry would get a break from the war and get to know his parents. That he remembered a Harry Fletcher. Which meant he knew Harry would be sorted into Slytherin all along.

What was Dumbledore thinking? A break from the war that involved living with Death Eaters? There was no way Harry would be able to make friends with the Marauders in just three months from the Slytherin dungeons. It was impossible. It was ridiculous.

It was Dumbledore, Harry realized.

Others had claimed Dumbledore played God with their lives and Harry had always defended him. Now, he realized they were right. Harry was a pawn in some mysterious game and Harry didn't know which direction to move. Harry was furious. And as he looked up, he realized this Dumbledore was too.

"I believe this conversation is over, Mr. Fletcher." Dumbledore said lightly, his eyes hard, concluding their meeting. "Have a nice day."

As the door closed behind Harry, he leaned against the wall outside Dumbledore's office. His suspicion was correct. Dumbledore had known he would be sorted here and had sent him anyway. His speech about patience and love— a load of crap. Harry pulled the chained time turner out from under his collar and stared down at the amber hourglass. Tiny beads of sand flowed through the center and Harry's blood went cold. He still had three months here. Three months to live with Slytherins. Three months to get James on his good side.

Three months wasn't enough time.

Breakfast came too soon and Harry sat begrudgingly at the far side of Slytherin table, eating a muffin. His meeting with Dumbledore was still fresh on his mind. Students in Slytherin house who need you, Dumbledore's voice echoed. Furious, Harry looked down Slytherin table at his housemates.

Lestrange sat several seats down, his dark hair swept back just above his eyebrows, his robes neatly pressed. Next to him sat Mulciber who, if the bags under his eyes were any indication, must have stayed up later than Harry had supposed. And across from them was Snape (sullen and pale). Harry's only consolation was that Bellatrix had chosen to sit with a few girls all the way down the table.

Snape's beady eyes tracked Harry from afar but Harry stubbornly ignored them. The last thing he wanted was to confront Snape. The image of him and Harry's mother kept appearing in his mind. She told him goodbye, Harry told himself as he stubbornly plunged a spoon into his porridge.

At Gryffindor table, the Marauders were joyfully bantering and eating breakfast. Harry snuck peeks at them as he ate. Lily's auburn hair was in a ponytail today and she looked bright and cheerful despite her late night escapade the night before. She never looked Harry's way and Harry wondered, on a scale of 1 to awkward how bad it would be when he finally talked to her.

James sat next to her, his collar unbuttoned at the top, and from what Harry could tell they were comparing class schedules. Harry glanced down at his piece of parchment laying on the table before him. Potions, Transfiguration, Ancient Runes.

Suddenly, Snape's cream of wheat exploded, splattering his face and hair with slimy drips of cereal. "Potter!" He growled. Across the hall, the Marauders visibly laughed and James flourished his hand in a bow. Scattered laughter began to echo around the hall as students spotted what happened and Harry didn't bother to hide his snicker. Unfortunately, Lestrange saw him.

"Is something funny?" He demanded. Snape furiously grabbed a napkin and began to wipe the stuff out of his hair, with little success.

Harry glanced over and took a sip of orange juice. "Course not."

"What a waste of pureblood." Mulciber muttered, glaring darkly at James. "Always acts like he owns the school because he can ride a broom. One day, he'll get what's comin' to him."

"Oh? And what is that?" Harry said, piercing Mulciber with a look. He was answered by Snape raising his wand and the resulting Gryffindor exclamations. James' cup had just disappeared, leaving his cranberry juice to splash straight down all over his white shirt. Lily had jumped back just in time. James said something intensely but she didn't look very sympathetic. She glanced over at Snape and gave him a long look. He only stared at her blackly. Neither seemed to notice Harry noticing.

At the head table, McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger like she was resigned to live with this forever. Dumbledore seemed oblivious as he took a bite of hippogriff shaped toast. Harry glared at him.

"Mudblood bitch." Lestrange muttered, glaring across the room and clearly referring to Lily. The others nodded in agreement, including Snape.

"Don't call her that." Harry growled in response, eyes fierce. He fixed his glare on Snape, who met his eyes briefly before looking down at his cereal.

Lestrange froze, his cup halfway to his mouth, and he turned to face Harry. "I'll call her what she is." He said evenly.

"You will not use that word in my presence." Harry said slowly. "And if you do, I will make sure you regret it. Now. I believe it's time to get to class."

With one last piercing look at all of them, Harry swung his bag over his shoulder and strode out of the great hall.

As luck would have it, Harry was the first student to arrive in the Potions Classroom. He surveyed the seat options very carefully, as he knew his father was an Auror who had to take potions until he graduated and Slughorn loved Lily. The Potions Chamber looked eerily similar to the last time he'd seen it and, guessing Lily was a front seat kind of girl, planted his things front and center.

Students began to trickle in, but there was still no sign of James or Lily.

Suddenly, Snape entered the chamber and Harry's face darkened. The Slytherin boy was much too at home in the dungeons— and suddenly he was headed straight for Harry.

Harry swallowed, bracing himself. He remained staring face forward as Snape approached. Harry refused to speak first. The Slytherin's nose seemed even bigger from this angle and for some reason Harry felt very mollified by that as the bat hovered over his shoulder.

The black-haired Slytherin threw his things down on the seat to Harry's right and jerkily took a seat, turning to Harry with a heated glare.

"Tell anyone what you saw last night," Snape hissed, "and I will make your life a living hell."

Harry glared at him, refusing to back down. "Threaten me and I'll tell everyone what I saw last night."

Snape's eyes were fierce and there was nothing of the vulnerability of last night. It was like he was a different person, Harry thought, looking the creepy Slytherin up and down.

"There's literally ten seats open." Harry said. "Move."

"No." Snape growled.

"What." Harry said in a low voice. "Waiting for Lily Evans to sit next to you?"

Snape's black eyes lit up with anger. Harry had definitely hit a nerve.

"You know nothing of Lily Evans," Snape snarled, finally grabbing his potions textbook and slamming it on the desk. Harry turned to glare but suddenly familiar voices interrupted them. Snape's eyes widened as he heard them behind his back and Harry looked up to spot the Marauders walking in over Snape's shoulder. He saw Remus and Sirius first, followed by James, Lily, another Gryffindor girl, and Peter. Harry's heart pounded in his chest. His parents were here.

"—it's not that I don't want to go to tryouts," Remus was saying, gesturing broadly with one hand, a textbook in the other, "It's that the transfiguration club conflicts!"

"Oh, c'mon, Moony," Sirius said, grabbing a desk in the second row from the front. "There's transfiguration club every week."

"Yes, but this is the one where they select officers—"

Harry watched them over Snape's shoulder, trying not to look like a complete fool. James messy black hair made him look effortless, and somehow he managed to make Hogwarts robes look good. Lily was equally stunning beside him. Red hair and the green eyes, like he had always heard. But the best things were the details Harry was finally close enough to see. The light in James' eyes as he grinned, Lily's soft smile. Harry drank in every moment and his eyes tracked their every move.

The seats were filling up, leaving only four seats left. Peter took a seat next to Sirius in the second row, leaving James and Lily the ones in front next to Harry and Snape. Harry assuming this was Lily's usual seat, pinned the Slytherin down with a knowing look. Snape refused to meet his gaze, instead devoting attention to pulling out his cauldron.

As the Gryffindors approached, Lily glanced at Snape and Harry uneasily but put on a good show at ignoring them. She carefully swung her book bag off her shoulder and onto the floor.

"Ah, Snape, good to see ya!" James greeted, pulling out Lily's chair and dropping his bag on the floor. He leisurely took a seat next to her and Snape glared at them all. Harry followed the conversation eagerly, hearing his loved one's voices for the first time. James' was low and confident, projecting so the entire classroom could hear him.

"What's the matter, Snivellous? Nothing to say?" Sirius mocked from a few feet behind James, pulling out his textbook and leaning back. His grey eyes sparkled mischievously and Harry almost smiled, picturing himself and Draco Malfoy in his mind's eye. Beside him Remus grinned.

"Sirius." Lily said, her voice a warning. Harry glanced at her curiously. She had stopped moving, but still faced forward. James leaned over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Lily, come on, remember what happened to Mary last year?" He said in a softer voice.

"Oh, come now, Potter," Sneered Snape from Lily's left, his voice obnoxiously matching James' previous volume. "There was no permanent damage." Harry glared sharply at Snape, and was surprised when Lily did the same.

"You're disgusting." She said in a low voice. Snape looked like he'd been slapped and turned suddenly to stare forward at his books. When Snape looked forward, Harry accidentally met Lily's eyes. She stared for a split second, looking stressed, before turning to look straight forward. Disappointed, Harry looked away as well. James' jaw tightened and he might have spoken again if Professor Slughorn hadn't taken that moment to begin class.

"Alright, everyone, let us begin!" He called from the top of the room. James glared at Snape before turning around and whipping out a quill from his pocket. Lily pursed her lips and folded her arms. Harry made a mental note to find out what happened to Mary.

"Congratulations, all of you, on your exams!" Slughorn began. "All of you received the required marks to qualify for Hogwarts' most challenging potions class. This is the last year standing between you and your goals – be it potions master," Slughorn's eye landed on Snape. "Auror," James, "Healer." Lily. "Or … otherwise. It will not be easy. But I guarantee if you work hard, if you give it your all — you will succeed.

"We shall begin today by refreshing your NEWTs. This potion uses every technique you should have mastered so far. When brewed correctly, its results are absolutely glorious." Slughorn paused dramatically. "Today we will be brewing Draught of Peace. I hope your brewing is successful, as those with acceptable batches will be permitted to bottle it for future use. You might need it this year, I imagine." He chortled. Slughorn flicked his wand, and cursive words appeared on the board in front of him, detailing the ingredients and procedure.

"Due to the complexity of the procedure, we will be brewing in pairs. Please partner with the person sitting next to you. Ingredients can be acquired from the potions cabinet. You may begin."

The room suddenly filled with chatter and low voices. Snape pulled out his cauldron, an ugly, blackened thing that Harry was surprised could still hold liquid, and Harry leaned back in his chair in annoyance. He was partnered with Snape. Of all the students in this room. Severus. Snape.

Harry folded his arms and glared at his partner. The guy's hair was too long and too greasy and he smelled weird. And his cauldron was ugly.

Harry's gaze past Snape and landed on Lily. She was like a ray of sunshine behind the dour boy between them. Her smile was huge and focused on James. James pulled out a silver, state of the art cauldron and Harry saw Snape glare fiercely at James. Harry could hear their every word.

"Well, let's get to it." She smiled. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the ingredient stores, passing in front of Harry on the way. Her perfume smelled sweetly of flowers and Harry stared after them.

"Is something wrong, Fletcher?" Snape's sneering voice cut Harry away. He turned back to Snape, who was staring at Harry full on, arms crossed. Dark bags hung under his eyes and his eyebrows were dangerously low.

Harry glared at Snape. "Only that I'm sitting next to you."

Snape glowered. "We'll use my cauldron." He snapped, rising dramatically and going straight to the ingredient stores. Harry rolled his eyes at him before following him. Why were they going to use Snape's cauldron? It was filthy. A few minutes later they returned with the potions ingredients in hand.

Snape pulled out his potions textbook and slammed it on the table, looking up at Harry pointedly. Harry did a double take.

It was his potions textbook! Harry had never attended seventh year so he couldn't have known, but this book was also used in seventh year potions.

Harry suddenly remembered a year of potions classes, what was scribbled in that book, and an awful moment in the Forbidden Forest, Snape and Harry standing down, breathing heavily in the frosted moonlight.

_"You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them – I, the Half-Blood Prince! And you'd turn my inventions on me, like your filthy father, would you? I don't think so!"_

And then Draco on the floor in the bathroom and blood everywhere and Snape kneeling over his wounded body, mending the damage done by the spell he had created… the spell written in that very book… the spell created by this teenager right here.

Harry gave Snape a wary glance. This was a boy who developed dark magic for fun. These boys would kill him in a heartbeat had they any idea who he was.

Snape returned from getting the potions ingredients and handed a jar of moonstones to Harry. "Crush this." Snape's black hair limply framed his pale face and his eyes were intense as they eyed the cauldron before him. Snape's cauldron was black and clearly worn and the metal's flawed texture glowed amber as it heated up. Snape measured four cups of syrup of hellebore and deftly swished it into the cauldron. He counted ten seconds before turning the flame to high. This was his element, Harry could tell. Harry, on the other hand, eyed the moonstones warily.

"Today, Fletcher." Snape said, his lips stiff around every word.

"Yes, professor." Harry snapped back easily. Snape eyed him like he was a potion ingredient as Harry gingerly lifted his knife and began grinding moonstone.

Slowly the potions took shape and began to take on a blue hue. Harry and Snape worked in silence, the tension thick, and Harry couldn't help but hide a smile as Lily teased James about actually studying over the summer.

Snape glanced up from his position, his head leaning over his cauldron and black hair collecting moisture. He glared at Harry.

"Pay attention." He snapped.

Harry just gave Snape a long, dry look before he began to chop up the moonstone. Snape, clearly uncomfortable, turned back to his potion.

"Powdered bicorn horn next, then?" Harry said.

"Perhaps if you read the text over staring at Evans, you would know." Snape snapped. James glanced up at the word 'Evans' and Harry glared furiously at Snape.

"No need to be such an arse." Harry snapped. Harry glared at him but upon reading the instructions realized Snape was right. Typical. He glared fiercely at Snape as he followed the instructions. Their potion turned amber and Harry glanced over at his parents pink potion.

"Lets ask them what they did." Harry said.

"Don't be moronic." Snape muttered, peering over his cauldron. But he did look over at James with an unreadable expression on his face.

James wrapped his arms around Lily and whispered something in her ear. Snape glared and flicked his wand, muttering something under his breath. James grinned and put his hand on Lily's waist. Lily jumped.

"What the-" She looked at him curiously. He looked confused.

"Sorry, guess I picked up some static." He said. Snape smirked and returned to his potion. James picked up the spoon and tried to touch Lily again and shocked her again.

"What the hell?" James exclaimed. Lily soothed him. "It's okay! It's probably just the fumes from the potion." She said, but they kept a little distance after that.

Beside them, Snape looked very satisfied as he stabbed an artichoke heart with a knife.

Eventually, the surface shimmered and Harry realized he had never had such a successful potion before. It was literally perfect. Harry was mildly impressed until he remembered this is why Voldemort liked Snape so much.

Slughorn began to circle and told all the students they could leave once their potion was graded.

"Wonderful," He said, peering over Lily and James' cauldron. "Spot on, absolutely spot on." Lily beamed.

He arrived at Snape and Harry. He stirred the now soft pink potion and gasped. "My goodness," He breathed. "This is phenomenal, I've never seen a potion of this viscosity – Severus, did you improve upon the recipe?"

"A tad." The boy admitted, pursing his lips and his eyes darting back and forth as he realized the room's eyes were on him.

"Phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal! Make sure to record what you did for future reference. I need to get that recipe from you. And don't forget the Slug Club, this Friday, at 5pm" Slughorn gushed. Harry instinctively straightened, expecting Slughorn to address him, but he didn't, merely moving on to the next cauldron. Harry felt a little irritation that Slughorn hadn't noticed him, but he shrugged it off.

"Wow, Snivellous. Get a life." Said James as soon as Slughorn was out of earshot. Harry chuckled under his breath and James and Snape both glared at him.

"I suppose not all of us are suited for the delicate art of potion making." Snape commented.

Lily stubbornly refused to look up, instead choosing to pack her bag with exceptional care.

"Congratulations, you can make potions." James said sarcastically.

"Too bad that's the only thing you can do." Harry muttered under his breath. A little too loudly. Snape stared at Harry incredulously and James started laughing. Lily looked at Harry in shock and there was something like disappointment in her eyes. Harry had no idea why and he felt his stomach drop.

"Trouble making friends there, Sev?" James mocked.

Snape ignored her and furiously slammed his potions book shut and began to clean up. "At least I don't buy them like you do."

"If you did you might actually have some." James quipped. Something about this hit a little too close to home to Harry, who had endured years of these taunts in primary school. That felt like— Harry immediately cleared his head but he couldn't erase the thought.

That felt like something Draco Malfoy would say.

Harry glanced down at his cauldron then back up at his father, whose lips tilted up in a smirk.

No, Harry was being ridiculous. Snape gave as good as he got.

Feeling more confident than earlier, Harry turned to his right and spoke. "I'm Harry Fletcher, by the way. You must be James." Lily, who had been looking straight ahead, suddenly looked Harry's way. Harry could only imagine what she was thinking. She knew that he knew that she was meeting secretly with Snape. He met her eyes and smiled, hoping it was reassuring.

Snape glared at Harry, before violently grabbing his bag and standing. James folded his arms and watched him smugly as he stalked out of the classroom.

"Later, Snivellous." Sirius called out with a grin. Remus didn't laugh, but he didn't look upset either.

James, remember Harry had spoken, glanced at Harry, then at Sirius and Remus like who is this kid? and then back to Harry. "It's Potter to you." He said.

It stung, but Harry only nodded, letting the rudeness bounce off him. "Potter, it is!" He said. "What about the rest of you?"

James gave him a weird look. Sirius raised an eyebrow and Remus only stared at him. Lily opened her mouth but Sirius cut her off.

"Wouldn't you like to know." His voice was haughty and Harry didn't like it. It was a side of Sirius he had never seen before.

"Yes. That's why I asked." Harry replied, looking between them incredulously.

"Later, Snake." Sirius said, standing. Remus didn't say anything as he also grabbed his bag. Harry, incredulous, stared at Sirius and Remus for a moment.

"Really? You're just going to leave?" Harry said incredulously.

James got to his feet and haughtily stared down at Harry. Harry didn't like the feeling and stared back at his father, feeling very uncomfortable. Lily, who was also standing, looked at James with something like warning in her eyes.

"Let's get one thing straight." James told Harry. His voice was loud and carried across the room, and Harry could feel other people staring at them. Not liking the feeling of looking up at James, Harry stood cautiously.

"I agreed with your comment." James continued. "That does not mean we're friends. Whether you like Snape or not, you're a Slytherin—- a filthy, evil, Death Eater—"

"James!" Lily exclaimed, turning to James incredulously. "You can't say that, you're Head Boy!"

James turned to her, eyes angry, but she had already stepped towards Harry. "I'm so sorry, Harry!" She said. "We were just leaving."

"Lily—" James said angrily.

"Leaving." She snapped, turning to him, eyes blazing. Behind her, Sirius and Remus exchanged looks. James, clearly pissed, glared at her for a moment before raggedly grabbing his backpack. He gave Harry one last glare before stalking out of the room. Sirius and Remus walked out next (without a look at Harry). Lily gave Harry one last torn look, before she left too, leaving Harry standing, alone in the potions classroom.

* * *

The corridor looked brighter than James felt as he walked down the corridor away from the potions classroom, his angry girlfriend one step in front of him, Sirius and Remus trailing behind him. Lily was furious, he could tell as she sped away from them. James held his books tightly as he felt his temper spike. He thought to last night. The beautiful girl, the great conversation, the kiss. But somehow, that felt hollow as he watched her stalk away from them. He gave Sirius and Remus a look, and they instantly understood, jerking a nod at him and detouring at the next turn.

James clenched his jaw and looked at Lily's auburn hair (all he could see, because she was furiously stalking away from him). "Hey!" He said loudly, speeding up and trying to catch her eye. "What was that?"

Lily abruptly stopped and turned to stare at him. Her eyes were narrow and angry (a look he had seen a lot of the last six years) and her chest rise and fell with each angry breath. James stopped too, and now they were standing alone in a corridor staring at each other in a stalemate.

"I thought this was over." She said, eyes fierce.

James pursed his lips. "I could say the same thing."

"Just because you don't like them—"

James eyes narrowed and he took a small step forward. She stared up at him defiantly, ignoring their sudden height difference. "Don't like them." James repeated incredulously. "I don't like Rita Delopez, because she got me detention. The Slytherins are on an entirely different level. They're Death Eaters, Lily. Don't you understand?"

"They're not Death Eaters yet—" Lily interjected.

"How do you know?" James demanded.

Lily shot him a frustrated look. "I saw his forearm." "His?" James repeated dangerously. "Snape?"

"Yes, Snape, who else would we be talking about." Lily exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Well of course we're talking about Snape!" James growled. "Not Harry Fletcher, the new kid, not Mulciber, the psychopath. Snape, the slimy creep, who seriously injured your best friend last year, who called you a Mudblood to your face, who thinks its okay to torture people. Why do you keep defending him?"

"Why do you keep bullying him?" Lily burst out. "And what about the new kid? Harry Fletcher? You can't talk to people like that, James!"

James went dangerously quiet. "Is that what you think I am?" He said in a low voice. "A bully?"

"No, I—" Lily broke off and it went silent.

The Marauders had literally called this. Sirius' voice rang in James' head. That Lily hadn't changed. That she would never be okay with the Marauders' Slytherin pranks. But things had been so different over the summer. She was so pleasant when she wasn't yelling at him. James ran a hand through his hair in frustration as the silence began to build.

Lily was the first to break it.

"Look." She said, her voice controlled. "I just think— it would be better if you would be nicer to Snape and the Slytherins. Just a little bit."

James stared back at her and knew (from experience) that she wouldn't bend. Her bright green eyes were pleading and James clenched his jaw and turned his glare to the wall.

"Please?" She said, looking up at him. James swallowed and clenched his fist. She was so insufferable sometimes. James sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair.

"Whatever, Lily." He said, shaking his head and beginning to walk again.

They matched strides in silence all the way to the Great Hall, but didn't hold hands like they normally might. When they approached the doors, James slipped an arm around her waist and pushed the door open in front of them.

Heads turned as they walked into the Great Hall. James knew what they saw. James Potter, the tall Quidditch Captain and Lily Evans, the vivacious Head Girl. But on the inside, James exhaled slowly. And as they walked up to the Gryffindor table, he glanced around the room. Sirius and Remus were already seated with Peter. James saw their eyes land on them quickly before looking away. They were too good of friends to stare. James' gaze shifted to the Slytherin table.

The Slytherin gang sat together as always. Lestrange, Mulciber, Avery. The new kid, Fletcher. And Snape. James' gaze landed on Snape and for some reason he felt more irritated than normal. What was it about him anyway? Why could he attack Lily's best friend in April, come back in October, and still have Lily defend him?

Even James didn't have that kind of loyalty. It didn't make sense.


	6. Operation Break Into Gryffindor Tower

**A/N: THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, YOU ARE THE GREATEST!**

**Before we start, a quick note about Harry's curse scar: while Harry does have a glamour to look different, his lightning bolt scar IS still visible. I realized I hadn't mentioned that yet, soooo I added it to chapter two and here is this note for anyone who is confused later on haha. **

**Enjoy! **

It was the end of the first day of school and Harry was already losing his mind. His first encounter with James had not gone at all to plan and Harry could not stop replaying the conversation in his mind.

"You're a Slytherin. A filthy, evil, death eater—" James had said.

Harry felt so confused. James had completely dismissed him just because he was a Slytherin. Sirius had blown him off. And then Remus— well, Remus had ignored the whole thing (which didn't make Harry feel any better). Lily had been the only one to stand up for him. To her boyfriend, at that. Harry's respect for his mother grew several sizes.

But James? Harry turned the corner on his way to runes and glared at the wall as he thought again to his father's words. Harry forced himself to breath out slowly. There was no point in being angry. The war here was real and Harry was a Slytherin. The Slytherins were death eaters. Even Professor McGonagall had snapped at him in Transfiguration class when he asked for the page number. Wouldn't Harry do the same in James' position?

But as Harry thought back to his Hogwarts, to Draco Malfoy and days long ago, he couldn't remember ever treating someone that way unprovoked.

There had to be a reason, Harry rationalized. There was no way James was always this horrible. Otherwise Lily wouldn't date him, he wouldn't be so popular, and Harry's friends and mentors wouldn't love him so much. Hagrid had even said he was "nice". Harry closed his eyes and tried to reconcile the James Potter he thought he knew with the James Potter that existed and came up blank.

Finally approaching the empty runes classroom, Harry glanced at his watch. Ten minutes early. He glanced around a little hopelessly. With no one to talk to, there was nothing else to do. He missed Ron and Hermione. He missed Ginny. He even missed his training sessions with Shacklebolt they had started after Dumbledore died. Now, he was nothing but a Slytherin, hated for no reason other than his green robes.

The classroom was light, the walls made up of windows, in an obscure corner of the castle. Why he had signed up for runes, Harry didn't understand. A small part of him had hoped that Lily or Remus might be there but now he braced himself for contentious Gryffindors or Slytherins, whoever might come first.

He took a seat in the front corner, thinking Hermione would be proud of him for sitting in the front, and waited for someone to show up. For the first time that day, Harry's luck had his back.

Lily Evans walked in the door. Alone. No boyfriend, no Gryffindors, no friends. Just Lily. Harry could have cheered.

She stared at him in surprise for a moment, her expression guarded. Harry could only imagine what she was thinking— all she knew was that he was the guy who eavesdropped on her last night. But Harry decided he wouldn't let this moment pass.

"Hi, Lily!" He greeted brightly. Lily glanced around at the empty classroom before taking to the seat next to him. Harry tried not to be creepy but he couldn't help but smile. His mother was sitting next to him!

"Fletcher." She greeted, smiling but surface level, the kind of friendly you are to grocery store employees. "Look. About last night—"

"I won't tell anyone." Harry said understandingly.

She only stared at him, her green eyes (Harry's eyes, Harry noticed) trying to hide confusion. "There's nothing to tell." She said determinedly.

Harry cocked his head at her. "Does James know?"

Her eyes sparked. "James doesn't own me. I can meet whoever I want."

"Okay." Harry commented, surprised (and a little concerned) at her sudden intensity. "Then like I said, don't worrry. I won't tell anyone. Especially James."

Lily pulled her book out of her bookbag and slammed it on the desk, giving Harry a frustrated look. Harry frowned. Clearly James was a sore spot. That wasn't good.

"Why do you care anyway?" She asked. "You just got here. Snape and I have known each other for years. We can meet and talk if we want to."

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly, the very same black haired Slytherin walked into the room. Lily's eyes darted over to him and froze. Harry followed her eyes and watched as Snape surveyed the room, his eyes landing on them. His glower went as deep as the ocean as Lily looked away. Furious, Snape stalked to a desk in the back.

"Alright. Go talk to him then." Harry said in a low voice, looking back to Lily.

Lily stared at Harry in frustration before folding her arms and leaning back in her chair. "I can't." She went quiet for a moment. "It's complicated."

Lily looked up to meet his eyes and Harry nodded in understanding. If anyone understood complicated, it was him. Harry leaned forward slightly. "I know." He said, speaking gently. "That's why I said I wouldn't tell anyone."

Lily stared at him for a moment, confusion in her eyes, as students began to pour into the room. The professor arrived and stepped to the front of the room.

"Hello, dears!" Professor Delaroux, an old sophisticated lady, greeted. "Welcome to our first day of class."

Lily shot Harry one last look before focusing on the professor. Harry for his part just basked in her presence.

It was Lily, his mother, next to him. She would be there every other day for three whole months, with no James, Sirius, or Slytherins to ruin it. And as the professor ran through the lesson, his mind played his conversation with Lily over and over again. —

Dinner for the Marauders' was always a spectacular event, but James felt less buoyant than usual as he surveyed his options. Lily wasn't there yet and he was pretty sure she was still upset with him from potions earlier. He glanced at his friends as Sirius piled his plate with all the meat options available and Remus helped himself to some mashed potatoes. Peter hadn't gotten there yet either.

James' eyes were dark as he served himself some of the roast chicken. His first day with a girlfriend and already they were fighting. The rest of the day had gone so well, too. Charms, then double Transfiguration. He glanced at the empty seat beside him, then up to the door. What could take her so long to get here from ancient runes?

James glanced up at the arrival of Peter. "Jeez, man you're taking your time with Rosy." Sirius said with a wolfish grin, cutting his steak.

Peter snorted. "Yeah. I wish. No, Antony was telling me about the new kid. Fletcher."

Sirius perked up at the notion of news.

"The weird Slytherin guy from earlier?" James said, glancing over at the Slytherin table but not seeing Fletcher.

"The one who was obsessed with us?" Sirius commented.

"Yeah, he knew your name in advance, James." Remus said.

"Apparently he wouldn't stop talking to Lily in Runes." Peter said.

James frowned, suddenly connecting that Lily and Fletcher were both missing. "He'd better not be."

Sirius nodded in agreement, leaning in for confidentiality. "We'll have to warn Lily about him. He's bad news. He even has a curse scar on his forehead."

"A what?" James asked, still studying Slytherin table.

"A curse scar." Sirius said, lowering his voice. "My uncle has one. It happens when someone casts dark magic on you. Fletcher has a lighting bolt on his forehead."

"I knew something felt wrong." James said darkly.

"Let's check him out." Remus said, pulling a folded piece of parchment out of his pocket: the Marauder's Map. Glancing around to make sure no professors were watching, he opened it and lay it flat on the table where all four Marauders could see. Remus leaned in and zoomed in to the Great Hall.

"Check the hall on the way back from runes." James instructed, leaning over the map.

"Dang, it still only has initials." Remus complained. "I knew I shouldn't have tried to fix it."

"There!" Peter exclaimed, pointing to a hallway. "LE and HP." James leaned in closer. There were the initials LE, for Lily Evans. And next to her, HP. James frowned. He couldn't think of any HPs in their year.

"Must be HF." Remus reasoned, squinting at the small print.

"We've got to fix this thing." Sirius complained, twirling his wand, trying to zoom the map in. "How do we go back to the full names, Moony?"

"I can work on it tonight." Remus said, looking up to Great Hall doors, where the initials were approaching. "After Transfiguration Club."

"And Quidditch Practice." James said. Suddenly, Lily burst into the Great Hall. Accompanied by Harry Fletcher.

"We should tell her about the curse scar." James said, eyes darkening, watching his girlfriend as she speedily walked to the table, waved to Emmeline and Mary, and arrived next to James.

"Hello, everyone!" Lily greeted, all smiles. James studied her. She seemed fine. The Marauder greetings back were a little less than zealous and she glanced around, her eyes finally landing on James.

"How's Fletcher?" James finally asked, taking a sip of cranberry juice. Lily turned to look at James, putting together that that's why the vibe at the table felt weird.

"Fine. We didn't talk much." Lily said, turning back to her plate.

"Really? I heard you guys sat together in Ancient Runes." Peter said loudly. James shot him a look for lack of subtlety, but it was too late.

Lily slowly turned to Peter. "Why does it matter who I sit with in class?" She stared him down and Peter didn't know what to say. "Besides." Lily continued. "It's not like his housemates are nice to him. I mean, look—" She gestured towards Slytherin table where Fletcher once again sat alone. "They're not even sitting with him."

"Yes, well nice doesn't usually describe our friends the Slytherins." Remus commented wryly.

"He's new—he probably doesn't even know what Slytherin is." Lily said, still watching Fletcher.

James glanced at her as he took a bite of mashed potatoes. "Lily, Sirius found out something important." James said, lowering his voice. Lily glanced at him inquisitively. "Fletcher has a curse scar. It means something attacked him with Dark Magic."

Lily gave him a confused look. "Yeah, attacked him with Dark Magic. That doesn't mean anything. What are you—" She looked down and took in the Marauder's Map.

"Just looking at the Marauder's Map, babe." James said reassuringly. Sirius and Peter exchanged glances.

None of them noticed Harry Fletcher staring at them in horror from across the hall.

Harry couldn't believe he had forgotten something this simple.

The Marauder's Map. Of course.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced up at Dumbledore. Had Dumbledore thought though sending him here at all? Harry certainly hadn't. He had been too starstruck to wonder about silly things like logistics.

Like how the Marauder's Map would say Harry Potter on it and ruin everything.

Or how Harry was ever going to get into the Marauders exclusive social club from freaking Slytherin house.

Harry ate dinner quickly and ran through his options. He could only see one.

He was going to break into the Marauders' dormitory and steal The Marauder's Map.

He could only hope it wasn't too late.

The Slytherin common room was humming with people as Harry stepped down the stairs from his dormitory one hour later. He had changed into standard black robes just in case someone saw him near Gryffindor tower and packed his invisibility cloak in his bag. Heart beating quickly, he glanced down at his watch. It was 7PM. Quidditch tryouts were starting. It was time to go.

Harry headed for the door. Unfortunately, he didn't make it very far.

"Well, if it isn't Fletcher." A voice rang behind Harry's shoulder. Mulciber. Harry stopped for a moment before turning around to take in the group of 7th year Slytherin boys. Mulciber stood at the forefront, arms folded, ready to start something. Lestrange casually leaned against the wall to his right. On the other side, Snape sneered down his nose at Harry, next to two rough looking guys Harry had learned earlier were named Avery and Wilkes.

"Finally learned my name, did you?" Harry said in annoyance. Mulciber glowered and Harry stared at them all in irritation, about to turn around again.

Lestrange suddenly pushed himself off the wall to step towards Harry. "Where are your robes?" His prefect badge glittered on his breast and Harry had a feeling Lestrange liked it that way.

"On." Harry said, gesturing lightly with his hand.

"Your Slytherin robes." Lestrange ordered.

Harry gave him a look. "I don't answer to you."

The temperature in the room dropped three degrees. Mulciber shifted his stance and, as Harry's eyes landed on Snape, the black haired teenager looked away. And the remaining students in the common room all went silent, all staring at Lestrange and this strange new student who dared question the status quo.

Harry's eyes returned to Lestrange, whose eyes glittered dangerously. Harry got the feeling Lestrange didn't mind the confrontation.

"I am your prefect." Lestrange said, speaking loudly for his spectators' benefit, "And as such, you do, in fact," He slowed down, locking eyes with Harry, "answer," his wand was out, "to," he stepped closer, "me."

Lestrange had advanced, but Harry hadn't moved. He only stared back in irritation at the Slytherin prefect and, to everyone's shock, glanced at his watch.

"Unfortunately," Harry said, "My choice of robes is outside of your jurisdiction. And I have somewhere to be." Harry shifted to turn around, but he saw Lestrange lift his wand out of the corner of his eye, and he suddenly knew turning his back on this group was a bad idea.

"Impediamenta!" Lestrange cast, jabbing his wand. The spell flew towards Harry but Harry was faster. He didn't even pull out his wand. He side stepped the spell and let it crash into the wall, sending a portrait to the floor with a loud bang.

Lestrange's eyes darkened. "Stupefy!" He growled.

The spell shot right at Harry, but this time Harry nonverbally brought up a perfect shield that pulverized Lestrange's spell like it was nothing. That was it for Harry. In a few quick steps, he was face to face with Lestrange and grabbed him by the shirt, bringing him closer so they were nose to nose. Lestrange stiffened, completely unprepared to deal with a physical attack. The silence in the room was palpable.

"Don't ever attack me again." Harry said dangerously. His kind eyes were gone and his posture was alert, attentive, and ready. His eyes were intense. But more than that, his magical era had collected around him and Lestrange suddenly knew he had underestimated his enemy. Harry let go of Lestrange and turned again, this time walking freely into the corridor.

It didn't take Harry long to make it to Gryffindor tower. He waited until he was a safe distance away from the Slytherin dungeons before putting on his invisibility cloak and walking the familiar path to the tower.

His sense were on high alert (thank you, Lestrange) and Harry exhaled slowly. Months of training with Shacklebolt had paid off; his shield had been perfect. Now it was time to focus on the task at hand: the Marauder's Map. Harry glanced at his watch. He need to hurry.

He was approaching the Fat Lady's portrait when Nearly Headless Nick suddenly floated out of a wall. Though he was invisible, Harry froze in his tracks. The corridor was empty except for them two and Harry tried to breath quietly as the ghost squinted in his direction.

"Red is a better color for you." The ghost stated astutely. Harry's eyes widened, but Nearly Headless Nick only floated on by. Harry swallowed. He knew.

Shaking his head of that for now, Harry walked up to the portrait of the Fat Lady, letting himself bask in the familiarity. It was so friendly and inviting. Nothing like the Slytherin dungeons and their creepy snake door.

Harry waited a few moments for someone to walk up (so he didn't freak anyone out by the door moving and no one coming in), and got lucky. Two stout second year boys walked up.

"Flaming kiwi cups." They declared. Harry followed them closely and let the door shut behind him.

He turned slowly to face Gryffindor common room. Instantly, warmth and familiarity assailed his senses. The fireplace glowed warm and bright, the colors were maroon and gold, and years of memories ran through his head: Ron cheering after his Quidditch win; cramming for exams by the fireplace; talking with Ginny after a long day at school.

Exhaling, he tried to shake off his emotions and get back to business. He needed to get to the Marauders' room.

It was easy enough to find. It was clearly labeled: "Marauders: Enter at Your Own Risk." Harry smiled slightly, lifted his wand, and muttered "perspicio." The door turned transparent to him only for a few seconds. The room was empty. Harry unlocked the door with a nonverbal alohamora and glanced around to make sure no one was watching as he swung the door open and slipped inside.

This was it. His father's bedroom. Still invisible, Harry looked around and marveled at where he was standing.

There were four beds but it was easy to guess whose was whose. Sirius' was the one with the posters of the very scantily clad Hex Girls above it and no pictures of family. A large Quidditch poster hung above the bed that read, "Go, Cannons, Go!" Harry approached the maroon bed, briefly picturing Sirius laying there, talking to him like old times. He glanced at the dresser. There was a fake wand, music records stacked high, and empty cans of butterbeer everywhere. Harry swallowed, remember his Godfather. He had to force himself to look away.

The bed next to it had blue blankets, with lots of pillows and a stuffed puppy. Harry snickered and wondered who gave him that. There was a picture of the Marauders on the wall, smiling, as well as one of Remus, a little girl, and what looked like his parents. Harry leaned in closer, suddenly wondering why he didn't know more about Remus' family. Did he have a sister? A few moments passed and Harry stepped back. He smirked as he saw a stack of chocolates on the dresser.

The next bed was the least familiar which made it immediately identifiable. Peter Pettigrew. Harry stared at the Gryffindor colored blankets, the textbooks stacked on the dresser, and the Roaring Ridgebacks posters on the wall. Zonko's 100 Pranks to Delight your Family and Friends sat on the dresser, but that didn't make Harry like Peter any better. Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, Harry turned around to look at the last bed.

Harry stepped forward, his eyes suddenly red. This was where James Potter lived. It was the same bed as Harry's twenty years in the future. They had chosen the same bed. Harry knelt in front of it and saw a JP etched into the wood that he had never noticed in his time. Quidditch posters lined the walls, along with a picture of he and the Marauders, grinning in Hogsmeade. Harry glared at Peter in the picture, suddenly filled with anger.

To distract himself he looked at the broomstick in the corner. Then to the bed. Harry walked forward and picked up a little tube. Dr. Wiz's Acne Cream. Harry smirked. Honestly, this bit of normalcy showed that James was just another teenager. Not yet Harry's father and not the complete jerk Harry had met during potions.

Forcing his thoughts back to the matter at hand, Harry glanced around. If he were them, where would he hide it? He stared at the giant stack of butterbeers by Sirius' bed. He slowly approached, picked them up, and stared at a big wooden box. It refused to open, but one alohamora and Harry was good to go. He opened it and there it was. The Marauders Map. Harry glanced behind him before stashing it in his inner pocket. Next, he closed the box, put the butterbeers back on top of it, and stood.

He looked around one more time, reluctant to leave. This might be his only chance to see James' room. He turned back to James' bed. A box underneath caught his eye. He hesitated, knowing this was a terrible idea, and then quickly knelt down, pulling it out.

The box opened easily under pressure and Harry slipped the lid off. It was filled with paper. Wait, not paper—photographs! Harry's heart pounded as he lifted the first.

There was James, looking smooth in a t-shirt and jeans. Next to him stood an older man and woman. James's parents! Harry realized, studying them like he would never see them again. The man smiled in the moving photo. He had laugh lines, Harry noticed, and jet black hair. The woman had her arm around James and was wearing violet robes. Her hair was up and her smile was contagious. James looked just like his mother, with her same expressive eyes and smile. Harry suddenly felt a lump in his throat. These were his grandparents.

Yearning for more, Harry pulled out the next photos. There were many of James' parents. Then James on a broomstick waving a quidditch cup. James with a certificate: "Champion, Horace's Dueling Competition." James with Sirius. James with the Marauders.

After a few dozen photographs, there were envelopes. Harry picked one up curiously and noticed the girly handwriting. Perking up a little bit, he pulled one out and read the first line.

_My dearest James,_

Harry's eyes widened. It was from Lily.

_I can't believe it's only been a month since I last saw you. It feels like a lifetime! I don't know if I'm going to survive this summer!_

Harry suddenly felt sad. He wanted to know them so bad. He wanted to see his mother and father together. He wanted them to smile at him, talk to him, hug him like Mrs. Weasley, to know him. He wondered what they would think about how he turned out. What Lily would think of Petunia keeping him in the cupboard under the stairs. Earnestly, Harry read on:

_Petunia hasn't talked to me since I got back from Hogwarts. Honestly, I don't know why I'm so surprised. Every year I hope things will be different and every year they aren't. Don't worry, I haven't seen Snape at all this summer. He's very busy with his new job at the apothecary, so no need to send a howler full of itching powder. Please? haha._

_Sometimes I wonder_

Harry suddenly heard footsteps coming up the stairs and he froze. He threw the letters back in their box but he didn't have time to do more than readjust his invisibility cloak before the door flung open and the marauders paraded in, James and Sirius decked out in their full Quidditch gear, Remus and Peter helping to hold Quidditch supplies.

"—how'd it go with Doris?" James was saying as he tossed his broom on his bed. Remus walked in next, then Peter, then Sirius.

Harry froze, heart pounding under his invisibility cloak. He knew they couldn't see him, but he was so vulnerable sitting just a few feet away from James' feet. He breathed very, very quietly.

Remus headed straight to his bed. "Oh, great." He said nonchalantly. "I mean, I don't know what she was thinking, but she seemed fine."

"So did you ask her?" Peter said.

"Um… no." Remus said.

"Remus!" Sirius complained, flopping on his bed dramatically. James still stood near the doorway.

"We had a great conversation." Remus defended. "It was progress in the right direction."

"Yeah, and maybe by the time you're forty you'll make a move! You've only known each other for six years." James said. He suddenly stepped towards Harry and Harry scooted back. James kept walking until Harry was staring straight at James' knee cap. Harry prayed James didn't need anything from the drawers behind him. Luckily, James only sat on his bed. Harry exhaled in relief — a moment too soon.

"What the hell?" James suddenly exclaimed. Harry looked up as James jumped off the belt and crouched by the box on the floor. He grabbed it and spun around to address the Marauders: "Who looked through this? Who got this out? Sirius?"

"You always assume it's me!" Sirius complained, throwing his hands up.

"That's because it usually is you." Remus pointed out, jumping to sit on his bed.

"It wasn't this time." Sirius said.

"Then who was it?" Peter said. "Because it definitely wasn't me."

"And it wasn't me." Remus said. "Which means—" They all locked eyes at the same moment. "Someone broke in!"

Harry's eyes widened in panic and he tried not to breath as they all suddenly looked around the room suspiciously. Remus looked right past him and Harry stared hopelessly at the door past James' shin. There was no way he could stand without making noise.

James turned around and backed away from his bed. He looked left, then right, then straight at where the box was. He kicked out his foot a few inches from Harry's face. Nothing. He moved it closer and closer until Harry knew he had to do something. He flicked his wand, nonverbally opening the window over by Sirius' bed.

"There!" Peter exclaimed, leaping over to the window, his wand drawn.

Harry used the commotion to stand and get away from James' bed. Now he was a few feet from the door.

Sirius, now standing, looked around. "Accio intruder!" He commanded. Harry smiled at his naivety. That spell would never work — it was too vague and only worked on inanimate objects. Otherwise, the Ministry would have captured all known Death Eaters by now. Harry suddenly appreciated how innocent the Marauders were. They were just normal, teenage boys.

"You have to be more specific." Remus said. Harry closed his eyes. He had jinxed it. It was over. "Accio… person who broke into our room." Nothing. "Accio …" Remus paused thoughtfully.

Harry closed his eyes, wishing he could apparate out of Hogwarts.

"….Slytherin robes." Remus said.

Harry froze, but nothing happened. He was wearing his unmarked robes from the sorting feast.

"They might have left by now." Peter offered.

The four Marauders stared at the air suspiciously for a moment, before relaxing. Harry breathed out in relief. James quickly picked up his love letters and tucked them back into their hiding place.

"As I was saying earlier," James said. Harry glanced at the door some one meter away, not daring to move. "Hufflepuff might be difficult, but I think we've got them. Ravenclaw, also a challenge. But the Holy War—"

"The third game of the season!" Sirius nodded.

"—is the one we need to prepare for. The Slytherins have won the cup for two years in a row and I refuse to go out on a Slytherin win." James declared. "I think we're good on all the positions except keeper but there's a lot of new talent this year."

Harry perked up as James talked about Quidditch. He didn't dare try and leave and a part of him wanted to stay. He smiled as Remus mentioned the full moon. And he couldn't help but feel nostalgic as Sirius complained about Kreacher, his demon house elf.

Harry didn't make it out until an hour and a half later, when Remus and James left to use the bathroom to get ready for the night. Harry followed closely behind them, covered by Sirius' record player blasting "We Are the Champion". Before he left, he turned around. James yawned loudly and looked at the stairs where Harry stood. From under the invisibility cloak, Harry lifted a hand. _Goodbye_.

It was too easy to pretend James saw. And as Harry walked through the hallways on his way back to the dungeons, he couldn't help but daydream of dark-haired baby boy and his dad.

**A/N: Thanks everyone for reading! **


	7. Lestrange Gets Even

**A/N: Hello hello! I'm back and sorry for the wait. I've been busy with final exams (okay more like burnt out from staring at screens all day forever and ever), then with job searching in this pandemic (sos plz hire me thx), and tbh I've been feeling guilty writing HP fanfiction when I don't have a job yet. Real life comes at you quick I guess.**

**THANK YOU to everyone who favorited, followed, or reviewed. I love you all! You're the reason I've been able to keep writing. **

**Now, on to the next chapter: **

It was a quiet morning in the Slytherin dormitories, where Harry had chosen to shower early in avoidance of his housemates. For the first time in days, his heart felt light, his stomach wasn't twisted in dread, and he had slept through the night. The idea of facing his roommates made him cringe, but time with the Marauders had been worth it and he only braced himself as he walked back in to the snake's den, fully dressed.

Snape lay on his bed reading a book, curtains pulled back, completely ready for the day to Harry's surprise. It was like 7AM. He glanced up through bushy eyebrows at Harry's entrance. His face was impassive but his black eyes gave Harry the creeps.

Mulciber had clearly just woken up, as he stood just outside the curtains rubbing his eyes. Lestrange was standing in his closet, his robes neatly pressed and hanging from the door. At the sight of Harry, both of their eyes turned cold. The tension was palpable. Harry feigned confidence and walked straight to his trunk to pull out his school bag.

"Have a nice night with the Gryffindors?" Lestrange said, his voice casual but with a steel edge.

Harry froze in front of his trunk, his back to his roommates, heart pounding. How did they know? If they told anyone—  
Taking a deep breath, Harry turned to them. "We covered this yesterday. Where I go is none of your business."

Lestrange opened his mouth to reply but Harry didn't give him the chance. He walked out of the room as fast as he could, praying Lestrange was bluffing.

On the other side of the castle, the Marauders were off to a slow start. James had just returned from showering and stood by his bed, a towel wrapped around his waist and his black hair still wet. A few meters away, Remus stood hidden in his closet getting ready and Peter sat lazily on his bed in hippogriff print pajamas. Sirius was still a lump under his blankets. Suddenly his alarm went off for the fiftieth time. James glared at the ceiling at the obnoxious sound.

"Padfoot!" Remus growled. He grabbed a pillow from his bed and threw it at Sirius' head. It hit Sirius' back, but he only rolled over to hug it as his arm swung up to hit his clock on the head.

"M'up, 'm up," Sirius mumbled, face buried in the pillow.

"Liar." Remus retorted. James rolled his eyes at them as he walked to his closet to put on a shirt.

A few feet away, Peter slid off his bed and lifted the pack of butterbeers in the corner to reveal the box where they kept the Marauders Map. "I have a prank idea." He announced.

James glanced at him. "Yeah?"

Peter nodded. "I had a dream where shrimp were flying around the Great Hall and— wait. Where's the Map?"

Suddenly all eyes were on Peter (except Sirius, the sleeper).

"What do you mean, where's the Map." James said, frowning, a shirt in his hands. "It's in the box where it always is."

"No, it's not." Peter said, dropping the butterbeers loudly on the ground and showcasing the empty box.

James and Remus stared at it for a second in confusion. "Padfoot!" James called. "Where's the Map?" "'s in the box," Sirius mumbled from his bed.

"It's missing." James said.

Sirius sat up suddenly. "Missing—" He repeated, still half asleep. "It can't be missing, I put it there last night—" His eyes widened in shock and realization.

Remus' jaw dropped. "Last night—"

"The intruder!" Peter exclaimed, dropping the box.

"Someone broke in!" James growled.

The first class of the day for the 7th years was widely anticipated as the most exciting class of the year and Harry couldn't help but feel excited as he walked the long trek to Defense Against the Dark Arts. This was a subject he was comfortable in. This was a subject he was good at.

And not only that, but James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus were guaranteed to be there with him. Lestrange's face from this morning suddenly appeared in Harry's mind, but Harry stubbornly pushed it out. No Slytherin was going to ruin this for him, he repeated to himself. Finally approaching the DADA classroom, Harry spotted a gathering of people standing outside the door.

There were two groups, easily distinguishable by the red and green scarves, with James standing at the helm of one and Lestrange heading the other. James' arms were folded, his stance confrontational, and his Gryffindor scarf casually wrapped around his neck in a clear show of alliance. To his side stood Sirius, whose shiny dark hair fell to his shoulders and was a lot prettier than the irritated expression on his face; Remus, whose face was relatively neutral but whose shoulders were tense; and Peter, who glared fiercely at the Slytherins in an open show of defiance that felt very hypocritical to Harry. Harry spotted Lily near James, her auburn hair making her easy to spot, standing next to a few more Gryffindors, lips pursed and hips tilted in irritation.

Facing them down were Lestrange, whose perfectly ironed robes, combed hair, and cool and collected demeanor only pissed Harry off at this point; Avery, whose blonde hair fell into his eyes as he tried to glare and lift his chin at the same time; Mulciber, who noticed Harry walking towards them and made sure to flex; and Snape, with his wrinkled robes, dark eyes, and lips so pinched they could be white. A few other Slytherins stood with them, students Harry hadn't yet met, but Harry kept his eyes on James and Lestrange as he came into earshot. He decided to approach from the back and stand in the middle of the two groups. Here at least, he had a good view, he thought wryly.

"How cute. An Auror is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts class." Lestrange was saying, talking to James. "Maybe he'll teach us expelliarmus."

"Aurors know more than you'll ever know." James returned coolly. Harry smirked a little at that, but the Slytherins didn't look ruffled. Lily glanced at James, her expression unreadable.

"Says the son of an Auror." Lestrange said, eyes glittering. "Hopefully, your dad survives the next attack."

The Slytherins' amused looks deepened as the Gryffindors rippled with reactions. James reached for his wand, Sirius glared, Remus stared in distaste, Peter stepped forward, and Lily leveled the Slytherins with a glare.

"You're disgusting." She said, staring at all of them but her gaze landing on Lestrange.

Lestrange stepped toward her and Harry reached for his wand— but they were interrupted by the arrival of an older man, tall and strangely built for his age, with dark silvering hair and a presence that demanded attention. Everyone turned to look their direction and, upon seeing Harry, Lestrange's eyes narrowed. Harry met his gaze evenly, daring him to do something about it.

No one said anything as the man, probably the Defense Professor, Harry assumed, glanced at the Slytherins, then the Gryffindors, clearly taking in the scene.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" He said, his baritone voice reverberating around the hallway. "Into class, everyone!" He swept them with a disapproving gaze before walking through the center of the two groups and continuing into the classroom. No one moved as he entered, though James and Lestrange eyed each other in distaste, neither wanting to be the first to back down. Remus, always the voice of reason, stepped into the aisle created by the two groups.

"He's right. Let's go." Remus said. Sirius reluctantly followed stepped forward to follow him.

"You'd better listen to your pet." Snape sneered, folding his arms. Remus paused in the doorway and clenched his jaw, choosing not to react. Sirius on the other hand, whipped around to face Snape.

"Never say that again!" Sirius threatened, stepping forward, wand out, all subtleties forgotten.

"Or what?" Snape said, for the first time stepping forward. Lestrange, Mulciber, and Avery watched on, eyes glittering in amusement. "You'll set your pathetic dog on me again?"

Remus' ears began to turn red and Sirius' jaw dropped. James looked furious and Peter shook his head. Most other students looked lost, but Snape was getting dangerously close and their reactions were giving Remus' secret away. Harry glanced at Snape. Did he know? Harry suddenly remembered why Remus had left in Harry's third year and realized he would not let that happen again.

Stepping forward so he was front and center, Harry spoke. "It's time for class." His presence was strangely familiar in a crowd so used to James Potter, his voice commanding and his eye contact penetrating. But most Gryffindors took one look at his Slytherin robe and scoffed. Lestrange and his sidekicks glared at him, but a few Slytherins looked uncertain after Harry's performance against Lestrange last night.

Luckily, Harry had an ally. "He's right." Lily said, stepping into the center with him but not meeting his eyes. "Let's go." She spun on her heel and walked straight into the classroom, not looking back. A few Gryffindors followed her and James looked irritated as he glared at Lestrange and reluctantly followed his girlfriend. As he walked through the door, James shot Harry a look before he disappeared into the classroom.

Harry was now alone with the Slytherins. He stared at their hostile faces but only gestured to the door. The Defense professor walked to the door and reminded them class was starting, so they had no choice but to obey Harry. Avery and Snape walked first, ignoring Harry and putting on their best behavior. Mulciber hesitated before walking in, followed by Lestrange, who didn't bother to hide his glare as he followed the others inside. Harry entered last, all eyes on him as he walked into a classroom.

The Defense classroom was spacious, with all sorts of dark objects, chests, and books dotting the perimeter. A werewolf taxidermy watched them from the front corner and Harry looked to Remus in concern before he looked away. Harry wasn't supposed to know anything. But still, the werewolf's beaded eyes reflected the light in a way that looked alive and its teeth were the size of Harry's hand from tip to wrist.

"Take a seat, please, Mr.—? The Professor said, watching Harry from the head of the room.

"Fletcher." Harry replied, realizing he was the only one still standing and spotting a chair flanking two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff — relatively neutral territory

The Professor only stared at Harry in return, letting the silence build as Harry took a seat. The shuffle of Harry's movements echoed around the classroom and Harry began to feel slightly irritated. After what seemed like a lifetime, the Professor cleared his throat, ready to begin.

"The world is changing." He announced to the room. "Defense Against the Dark Arts is no longer about merely passing exams." A few students perked up (including James, Harry noticed).

"What you learn here may save your life." The Professor continued. "What you neglect to learn here may cost you your family's." The man paused. Harry glanced at Lily, whose eyes were wide as she watched the Professor. When he looked back, the man was staring at him. His eyes were piercing, the kind that appears to stare through students' souls, and Harry shifted uncomfortably under its weight.

"My name is Professor McKinnon," The man continued, his mouth forming every word in the way of someone who knows what he is saying is very important, "the former Principal Auror to the Minister of Magic. I am here as a favor to my old friend Albus Dumbledore. Here to teach you, the next generation, how to defend against the Ultimate Evil — the Dark Arts."

Professor McKinnon clasped his hands together. "Today, we will begin with an assessment of your skills. This is to assist me in planning our lessons for the year. There is advanced material here, so you will not know everything, but I encourage you to give it your best effort. Now. Let's divide into pairs. Stand next to your partner as I read your names aloud."

McKinnon twirled his wand and a scroll appeared, one end bobbing towards the floor. "Abbot and Avery." He called out. Abbot, a bronze-haired Ravenclaw to Harry's left, reluctantly glanced at Avery before he stood.

"Black and DeLopez." McKinnon called out next. Sirius glanced at James before casually standing to join a pretty, dark-haired Gryffindor girl.

"Potter and Elliot." McKinnon said. Still leaning back casually in his chair, James glanced over at a stout Hufflepuff who was standing to meet him. The Hufflepuff, realizing James wasn't going to move, begrudgingly walked over.

McKinnon continued in kind until, by the end of the list, Lily had been paired with Remus (to their apparent relief), Peter had been paired with a Ravenclaw, and all names had been called except for two.

"Fletcher and Lestrange." McKinnon finished.

Harry reluctantly glanced at Lestrange. The Slytherin seemed relaxed as he sat straight in his chair. He gave Harry a look that was too pleased for Harry's liking, his lips twisted up in a smirk. Harry glanced up at the ceiling as he stood to join his new partner. He and Lestrange now stood in the center of the classroom, paired students flanking them on either side, filling the classroom. To Harry's far right, James and the Hufflepuff stood next to Sirius and the girl, with Remus and Lily standing obediently on the other side.

"—a really talented Auror," Harry heard James say in a low voice. Beside him, Sirius nodded. The Hufflepuff pretended not to listen to James, though Sirius' partner had no such tact. "Apparently he singlehandedly sent fifteen Death Eaters to Azkaban." James continued.

"Hell yeah," Sirius replied twirling his wand.

Harry glanced back at Lestrange, whose eyes were on him. Although his face was impassive, Harry could see the edge in Lestrange's eyes. The Slytherin stood in dueling stance, his wand gripped tightly with his right hand.

"Like the Gryffindors, do you?" Lestrange said in a low voice, eyes fixated on Harry.

"I prefer people who don't attack me." Harry said lightly. Lestrange's grip tightened until his knuckles turned white.

"Now." Professor McKinnon called out from the head of the room. "Your objective is simple. Duel. If you get disarmed, you are out and your partner will be re-paired. The last man standing will win—" The Professor twirled his wand dramatically, conjuring— "A gift certificate for twenty galleons to Zonko's Gift Shop."

James perked up and he grinned at Sirius, Remus, and Peter as whispers echoed around the room. Lily remained silent, twirling her hair with one hand, holding her wand in the other.

"Feel free to use any spells you see fit." McKinnon announced. "Standard dueling rules apply. On my mark!"

Harry backed away until he was the proper distance from Lestrange, never taking his eyes off his opponent. Lestrange shifted to find his center of balance and, locking eyes with Harry, spun his wand in between his fingers. This was a dream come true for Lestrange, Harry guessed. An opportunity to reclaim his throne after his humiliation yesterday.

"Get set." McKinnon continued.

Harry steadied his breath, contemplating how to play this.

"Go!"

The air was immediately filled with young voices casting spells such as "expelliarmus!" and "stupefy!", with "protegos" following a beat later. Lestrange attacked almost immediately.

"Confringo!" He growled. Harry's eyes widened. Lestrange wasn't messing around— the blasting curse made objects explode and could cause serious damage if it landed. A red beam of light emerged from Lestrange's wand and shot, full speed, towards Harry. Knowing he couldn't dodge because the spell would just hit someone behind him, Harry cast a protego just in time. His effortless shield shimmered into place as the red light crashed into it with enough force to jolt Harry backwards a few steps. He wasn't even able to glance over to see how his parents were doing as Lestrange began to barrage him with attacks.

"Impediamenta!" Lestrange cast. The spell flew at Harry but Harry sidestepped, letting it fly into the wall.

"Incarcerus!" Lestrange muttered. Harry dodged again. In the corner of his eye, he saw James land a stupefy on the Hufflepufff.

Harry gave Lestrange a dark look and twirled his wand. "Expelliarmus!" Harry cast. The spell flew at Lestrange, but the Slytherin sidestepped it dramatically, in imitation of Harry's move last night.

"Come, now, Fletcher." Lestrange taunted, stepping forward. "I know you can do better than that."

"Stupefy!" Lestrange yelled, the bolt of energy hurtling towards Harry.

"Protego." Harry said, a shield appearing as a shimmering bubble around him, letting the spell evaporate. Again, an exact recreation from last night— only this time Lestrange knew Harry could have cast it nonverbally, and didn't. Anger glittered in the Slytherin's eyes. Harry was going easy on him— and Lestrange knew it.

Harry kept his knees bent, ready to move. He couldn't fully duel Lestrange here. It would make a scene.

"Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy! Confrigo!" Lestrange growled, casting three spells in succession. Harry shielded the first, dodged the second, and rolled out of the way of the third, watching in horror as the blasting spell nearly collided with a Ravenclaw girl behind them. McKinnon was preoccupied showing some Gryffindor how to properly shield and, having missed the entire encounter, there was no one there to stop Lestrange from seriously hurting someone. Harry rolled onto his feet some ways away and turned to Lestrange furiously.

"Watch it!" He exclaimed at Lestrange. The Slytherin advanced on him furiously and Harry cursed. McKinnon was still too far away and there were too many students around.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Lestrange cast, the spell shooting towards Harry. Harry stepped to the right, letting it zoom past his ear. The boy behind him wasn't that lucky. It hit him straight in the back, causing her to straighten like a board and crash to the ground. McKinnon finally looked over and raised his wand to levitate her to the side of the room. He gestured to her partner that she was out.

Suddenly a force hit Harry in the chest, and he was sent flying into the wall. He hit the wall, his back crashing into a painting, before falling and landing hard on his stomach. His wand rolled away to his left. A little dazed, Harry looked up through his eyebrows as a very smug Lestrange advanced on him, having hit Harry with a knockback jinx. Harry glared at Lestrange furiously. This wasn't over. As McKinnon turned to them to declare Harry out of the race, Harry suddenly rolled to his left, dodging a spell from Lestrange, and grabbed his wand as he summersaulted to his feet. He spun around to face Lestrange, back in the game, as Professor McKinnon clapped a few times.

"Excellent, Mr. Fletcher— you're still in." He announced. Lestrange, having thought he won, turned back to Harry, furious that he couldn't disarm an opponent who wasn't even fighting back. Suddenly he paused and smirked at Harry, twirling his wand and casting a spell.

"Impediamenta!" He growled, sending the spell towards Harry. Harry got ready to block, but the spell missed, instead landing on Lily Evans and sending her flying towards the wall. She hit the baseboards with a load boom, landing flat on the floor.

"Professor McKinnon!" James exclaimed in outrage as he ran to his girlfriend. She sat up gingerly and began to rub her head.

McKinnon shook his head. "This is an important lesson, everybody! Watch the crossfire! All spells are equally deadly, whether they come from your opponent or not."

Lestrange locked eyes with Harry. "Mudblood bitch." He said quietly, out of the Professor's earshot. Harry's temper soared.

"Don't call her that." Harry growled.

"Serves her right." Lestrange continued. "And don't get me started Black, the blood traitor. He'll get what's coming to him."

An image of Sirius falling through the veil flashed through Harry's mind. His heart tightened and he turned to Lestrange in rage. This had to end.

"Reducto!" Harry cast, the beam of energy flying at Lestrange, who blocked it. "Stupefy!" Harry cast next. "Rictusempra, expelliarmus, stupefy!" Harry growled. The spells flew at Lestrange in rapid succession, who blocked every single spell to Harry's chagrin. The commotion got everyone's attention. Suddenly Harry and Lestrange were the last pair standing.

"Bombarda!" Harry growled. The spell shot towards Lestrange, who dove out of the way.

"Oppugno!" Lestrange cast at the rug. Suddenly it rose to attack Harry. The students in the room gasped. Harry stumbled as the room moved out from under him.

"Stupefy!" Harry cast at the rug, effectively countering it. The rug fell, lifeless, back to the floor. "Flipendo!" The spell shot towards Lestrange and hit him, but didn't do a lot of damage. Lestrange stumbled backwards to the wall, but while he lost his balance Harry twirled his wand.

"Talentallegra!" Harry called. The blue light surged and hit Lestrange straight in the chest. The usually composed Slytherin's legs began to twitch and dance without his control. The class began to giggle until a few seconds later, Lestrange managedto cast a Finite Incantatem on his legs, stopping the dancing, none the worse for wear, but pride stinging with embarrassment.

"Confringo!" Lestrange yelled. "Confringo, congfringo!" McKinnon frowned as three blasting curses flew at Harry, one flying to where Harry was standing and the others headed towards Harry's right and left. Harry braced himself and channeled his full power into his shield.

"Protego!" He yelled, now demonstrating his perfect shield for everyone to see. Most students shields could hardly withstand an expelliarmus. Harry's, however, shielded him from three full intensity blasting curses. A few students exclaimed in amazement, but Harry didn't have time to look.

"Malum perdere!" Lestrange growled. Several people recognized the spell at the same time. McKinnon reached for his wand, James' jaw dropped, and Harry's eyes widened in shock. McKinnon wasn't fast enough to save Harry, however, and Harry knew it. This was a borderline dark curse, mean to cause searing blisters to the unlucky soul who got hit. It wasn't dark— but it was getting there, and it was incredibly dangerous to cast in a closed room. It couldn't be blocked by Protego and its radius was too large to sidestep— there was only one counter curse, as Shacklebolt had been sure to point out to Harry during training. What was it, Harry racked his brain, as the spell hurtled towards him—

Harry braced himself and instinctively began to cast. "Clypeus!" He said, pushing white light from his wand just as the blue spell came hurtling at him. The blue and white light collided on impact, and Harry felt the energy come rushing at him. He pushed back, easily overwhelming Lestrange who had not expected the counter curse. The spell sent Harry flying back, but the brunt of the energy redirected at Lestrange and, even as Harry was in the air about to hit the wall, he knew this was bad.

Lestrange was hit with his own spell plus energy from Harry's, and Harry could hear was Lestrange's howl of pain as his body erupted in painful burns. Harry landed on the ground with a force that knocked the wind out of him and he lay on the floor, panting for a moment, as the room went dead silent.

Harry closed his eyes in dread for a moment, before rolling onto all fours and coming to his knees. Although Lestrange had been the one to cast the spell, all the class could see was Harry kneeling, unscathed, and Lestrange twisted on the ground, his skin red and blistering. Every student in the classroom stared at Harry, in horror. But the people that hurt the most were the people Harry loved the most. Sirius blatantly glared at Harry, Remus' eyes were guarded, and James stood, arms folded, eyes veiled in blatant disgust. Harry met Lily's expressive green eyes and tried desperately to read what was there. Fear, uncertainty, and confusion. He tried desperately to convey that this was a misunderstanding, but McKinnon stepped forward and Harry had to look away.

"That's enough." McKinnon said darkly, the only one in the room who fully understood what had happened besides Lestrange and Harry. "Fletcher, on your feet. Mulciber, take Lestrange to the hospital wing." Harry stood shakily as Mulciber stepped forward to help Lestrange. Harry forced his face to stay impassive as Mulciber knelt and gave Lestrange a hand. Lestrange, unable to move due to the painful burns all over his body, cried out in pain as he stood.

"This was your spell, Mr. Lestrange." Professor McKinnon said in response to Lestrange's show, not feeling too sorry for Lestrange. "I hope you remember that." The two began the slow journey to the hospital wing, with every student in the class watching them silently, not daring to move.

"Mr. Fletcher." Professor McKinnon turned to Harry, who remained still and unmoving on the other side of the room. "You should not have known that counter-curse. But count yourself lucky that you did." Professor McKinnon reached into his pocket and pulled out the Zonko's gift certificate. He tossed it to Harry, aiding it with magic so it didn't just fall to the ground, and Harry caught it deftly with his right hand.

McKinnon met Harry's eyes darkly and when he spoke, his voice was tainted with sarcasm. "Congratulations. You won the prize. Class dismissed." He supported his dismissal with a wave of his hands, walking to his desk to collect his things. For a moment, no one else moved, the silence intimidating everyone into stillness. But after a few seconds, students began to whisper. A few blatantly stared at Harry, where others were less subtle. James turned to whisper to Sirius, before walking over to wrap his harms around Lily, who was still a little shaky from hitting the wall earlier.

For the first time since Harry had arrived in 1977, he didn't dare approach the Gryffindors. He grudgingly walked back to the desk where his bag lay, abandoned, on the floor. The Gryffindors grouped together on the other side of the classroom, far from Harry's earshot. Unfortunately, Harry had to pass Mulciber, Wilkes, Avery, and Snape to get to his things. The four were standing tightly together, muttering in dark voices. Harry nearly rolled his eyes. It was a horrible attempt to be subtle.

"The imbecile," He heard Snape mutter in a low voice. "That's a fully fledged dark curse. McKinnon has to know-"

"It's not like he can prove anything—" Mulciber growled back, defending Lestrange.

"He doesn't need to prove anything, he's an auror—" Avery said in annoyance.

As Harry got closer, all four boys went silent. Harry only gave them a look. "Don't worry." He said quietly. Mulciber gave him a weird look, Snape looked suspicious, and the others looked confused, but Harry chose to ignore them, continuing: "That curse is only borderline dark. The Ministry doesn't like it because they think it's a gateway curse, but they can't arrest him for it."

All four boys looked at Harry like they couldn't decide if he was a snake or a dandelion.

"How do you know that?" Mulciber demanded.

Harry, arriving at his desk, picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder. He looked back to Mucliber, but knew any answer he gave was going to make him sound sketchier than he was. Harry only shrugged as he turned around and walked away.

Mulciber, shocked, only stared after Harry in confusion. Avery and Wilkes had no idea what to say, and Snape, mind spinning at a million miles an hour, was filing this information away.

Harry Fletcher was not what he seemed.

**A/N: Next chapter: Get ready for some Harry James DRAMA ;) It's about to get real.**


	8. James VS Harry

**A/N: Hi everyone! At long last, here is the next chapter of A Snake's True Colors. **

**First, sorry for the wait! Honestly life has just been busy and I've been having a hard time with formatting on this site so I got a little discouraged. A few people have mentioned dialogue running together? First off, I AM SO SORRY haha that is so annoying. Second, I've been trying to fix it but no matter how many times I upload the chapter, it doesn't change. So that's a thing, but definitely know that I'm working on it and trying to make things readable again.**

**To everyone who is still here, thanks for sticking with me! You're all great and I appreciate all you wonderful people who have reviewed or put this story on alert/favorite. **

**Anyways, that's all for now! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy this chapter :) **

**0 8 **

**James vs Harry**

Soon, every student at Hogwarts had heard what happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts: that Rodolphus Lestrange and Harry Fletcher had used dark magic in class. That Harry had dared attack the reigning Slytherin King. And most importantly — that Harry had _won_. Now, rumors were circling that Harry was the most powerful dark wizard in Hogwarts. And with Lestrange in the hospital wing for the unforeseen future, most students were starting to believe them.

As for the Marauders, they spent the the entire night in the library researching m_alum perdere _and the students who used it. That Lestrange had used it wasn't a surprise to them; his father was a public supporter of You-Know-Who, and while the Marauders didn't like Lestrange, at least he was a known entity. Fletcher on the other hand was a wild card, and the more the Marauders learned about him, the sketchier he seemed.

The only thing they could find on the curse was in _Spells for Every Encounter_, an ancient dusty book that seemed like it was written about a million years ago. All that was written about it was that it existed and that it caused severe burns and scaring to the victim. There was no proper incantation, no wand movement, no instructions, and definitely no counter curse. How Fletcher knew such a spell was anyone's guess. Sirius maintained that Fletcher's "homeschooling" consisted more of "Death Eater 101" than standard curriculum, and, when Remus couldn't find Fletcher's name in the census records, even James had to admit that something was very off with the new Slytherin.

Now, 8AM in the morning found James sitting in a way-too-early prefect meeting, eyes smarting from lack of sleep, mind wandering, unable to stop thinking about Harry Fletcher the boy who didn't exist. How could he not be listed in the census records? It was impossible. Unless he wasn't who he said he was.

James frowned, leaning back in the cushy head-boy chair at the head of the table where he sat next to Lily, and scoured the room. The place was nearly full, with prefects, professors, and the headmaster all seated around a long mahogany table. Lily stood at the helm, giving a presentation on new prefect routes, her auburn hair tied up in a perfect ballerina bun, her presence kind but in charge. Professor Dumbledore sat to her right, merrily leaning back in a high backed baby blue chair and bobbing his beard in agreement every few seconds. James studied the headmaster for a moment. He had to know, right? Dumbledore wouldn't let a known Death Eater in their school. Right?

But even as the thought crossed James' mind, he considered everyone Dumbledore had allowed in the school. Lestrange, Snape, Avery, Mulciber. Even You-Know-Who himself had attended Hogwarts at some point, James reflected. No, Dumbledore was not infallible.

James gaze shifted past the two Hufflepuff prefects to the only empty seat. Slytherin, which sat empty because Lestrange had yet to be released from the hospital wing.

James glanced over at Remus, the Gryffindor prefect, who sat on the other side of the table. He sat up way too straight for this time of morning, his robes perfectly pressed and his dusty brown hair neatly combed back. James nearly rolled his eyes, though it was out of fondness more than anything. Ahh Remus. The overachiever. Remus had been up just as late as James and yet here he was, all bright and chipper. Feeling James' gaze, Remus glanced over and met his eyes. James tilted his head at the empty chair and Remus raised his eyebrows meaningfully. An entire day in the hospital wing? No wonder that curse was dark.

"—for all that you do. James?"

James quickly straightened and glanced up at Lily, who stared at him expectantly. Her face was pleasant, but her eyes began to glitter in a way that meant he had better start talking. James glanced at the room of prefects and professors, all staring at him, and cleared his throat.

Having no idea what they were talking about, James opted to deflect. "Yes, my love?" He said, smiling broadly and meeting her eyes.

All the prefects giggled at his response (as he knew they would) and a few girls awwed (as he knew they would). Professor Dumbledore only chuckled merrily and to James' right, Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes dramatically. But James didn't falter. He knew she didn't mean it.

Lily sighed but smiled as she continued. "I was saying. Would you like to add anything?"

James nodded immediately, his mind racing through options. Standing dramatically so he could face everyone, he cleared his throat. Beside him, Lily looked resigned at his theatrics, sitting and glancing at Remus who shrugged at her helplessly.

"I just want to echo what's already been said." James said, grinning wryly. A few people laughed. "Looking around this room, I see the next generation — incredible student leadership making a difference for our students and for our community. Thank you for all you've done. We appreciate it, Professor Dumbledore appreciates it, and most of all, I appreciate it, because you guys doing your job makes my job easier. Now, I propose we move to the next topic on our agenda— breakfast." Everyone broke into applause and James grinner, mock bowing as he took a seat again.

With the meeting adjourned, the room began to buzz with conversation and James turned to Lily with a grin.

She sighed, leaning her head into her palm. "I swear. You don't even _listen_ to the meeting and they worship you."

James grinned at her as she glanced up at him through a wisp of auburn hair. "What can I say. I'm a people person."

Lily gave him an exasperated look, but James only leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Oh, come on, babe. Your presentation was amazing. You did a great job. The new prefect routes? Golden."

"You don't even know what they are." Lily shot back. "But thanks." She gave him a wry smile and James gave her a reassuring grin back.

People began to hover around them (they were the Head Boy and Girl after all) and Lily turned around to address a question from Professor Dumbledore about point allocation. James chatted with the Hufflepuff prefects for a second before shifting to the Ravenclaws, letting Lily take Professor McGonagall. Soon, the room began to clear out, leaving James, Remus, Lily, and the Ravenclaw prefect.

"You're going down, Potter!" The Ravenclaw prefect, Edward Pattinson, joked. He was referring to the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and James only rolled his eyes in response.

"Later, Pattinson." James waved. As soon as the Ravenclaw cleared the door, he turned to Remus. "Ravenclaw's got no chance."

Remus grinned in amusement as he crossed over to Lily, who stood by the table and James, who was leaning against the wall. Remus jumped backwards to sit on the conference table with the vibes of someone who had something to say.

"I can't believe he's not out of the hospital wing yet." Remus said. "Burns usually can be healed in a few hours."

James glanced at him. "Dark magic like that must be hard to heal."

"He shouldn't have used it on Fletcher." Lily said.

James and Remus exchanged glances as James realized they had yet to let Lily in on their research last night.

"Fletcher shouldn't have known the counter curse." James said a little defensively, not liking the sound of Lily defending Fletcher. "That was dark, too."

Remus glancing between the two quickly took control of the situation. "Either way, they both used dark magic. That's a violation of Hogwarts policy. The punishment is supposed to be suspension."

"So they'll be suspended when Lestrange gets out of the hospital wing." James said conclusively.

"Not quite." Remus said. James and Lily both turned to Remus in surprise, and he glanced over at the door, lowering his voice slightly. "I overheard McKinnon talking to Professor Dumbledore before the meeting today. McKinnon was demanding they be suspended. But Dumbledore said Lestrange had suffered enough and that he would deal with Fletcher privately."

James' jaw dropped. "He veto'd the suspension?"

"Looks like it." Remus said, nodding. "It was bizarre."

"I don't think it's fair that Fletcher would get the same punishment as Lestrange." Lily said, frowning and folding her arms. "He only defended himself."

"With dark magic." James reemphasized.

"Defensive magic." Lily countered, staring at James in challenge.

"Look." James said, turning to Remus for support before turning back to Lily. She cocked her head slightly as James spoke. "Here's the thing. The ministry outlawed dark magic centuries ago, so the only place you can learn it is from a family that practices it. Meaning, Fletcher learned that curse from someone dark."

Lily frowned thoughtfully. "That makes sense. But I still think you're oversimplifying things."

"Possibly." Remus acknowledged. "But it's still important to consider."

Lily glanced between the two, eyebrows furrowed in thought. James glanced at Remus who met his gaze evenly. At least the two of them were on the same page. Fletcher was bad news.

—-

On the other side of the castle, a very reluctant Harry walked through the Great Hall to the Slytherin table. If yesterday was any indicator, today was going to be rough, and Harry winced as he considered the day before him. Somehow his actions yesterday has managed to simultaneously terrify the Hufflepuffs, intimate the Ravenclaws, subdue the Gryffindors, and impress the Slytherins. Despite Harry's best cold shoulder, Bellatrix had tried to make small talk with him yesterday, and Harry was not excited for another day of Slytherins trying to talk to only Slytherins who didn't seem interested were Lestrange's gang: Mulciber, Avery, and Snape. They were just more sour than usual and that was saying something.

As Harry walked to his place on the far end of Slytherin table, a million eyes turned toward him. A few Slytherins waved, but Harry ignored them, sitting at his usual place for breakfast. Towards the faculty and staff, facing the Gryffindors, and far away from people.

Still feeling eyes on him, Harry picked up a piece of toast. Soon, they would lose their interest, he told himself. It's not like he did anything impressive. All he did was not get pulverized by Lestrange.

But even as he thought that, he knew it wasn't true. No student should have known the counter to that attack.

Harry's life suddenly went hurtling through his mind. His parents dying, the Dursleys, Hogwarts, Voldemort, Dumbledore, training, Voldemort. Harry swallowed, trying to ignore his thoughts. No matter what happened here, he told himself, at least Voldemort wasn't trying to kill him. He repeated his mantra of just be a normal student and stiffly grabbed the knife to slather some jam on his toast.

Shakily controlling his breath, he glanced over at the Marauders table. Lily was there, and Remus and Peter, but James and Sirius were missing and for some reason today it hurt more than usual.

Harry knew why. Their faces from Defense Against the Dark Arts yesterday flashed through his mind.

James, standing tall and headstrong. His eyes full of suspicion and betrayal. Sirius, beside him, openly glaring at Harry.

Irritated at his thoughts today, Harry stubbornly took a bite of toast. All the drama would all go away, he told himself. He just needed to make it through this gossip circuit.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Bellatrix Lestrange (no, Bellatrix Black, Harry remembered) coming right at him. He stiffened as the dark curly hair entered his personal space.

"Anyone sitting here?" She asked brightly, not waiting for an answer before she sat in the seat across from him. Her eyes were pretty, with long lashes framed by voluminous dark curly hair. But her entire presence only pissed Harry of more and he only ignored her as she sat down.

"I hear you're really great at Defense." She complimented, winking at him.

Harry abruptly turned his gaze to his toast, staring at it like it could save him. "I'm not. Just lucky."

She laughed like he had made a joke. Harry steeled himself.

"Well, okay so I have this assignment due." She said. "100 offensive curses to defend your friends and family. And we can't include anything dark so like, I don't even know what to write and I was thinking—"

"No." Harry said but she ignored him.

"—if you have time tonight, would you help me?"

Harry stared at her in annoyance and horror, but was saved by the arrival of Professor Slughorn.

"Fletcher, my boy. Ms. Black." Slughorn greeted jovially, sliding into the seat next to Bellatrix, his large frame barely fitting on the seat. It was unusual for the Slytherin head of house to visit the student table, and Harry could feel every Slytherin turn to stare at them. Bellatrix glanced at him, then back at Harry, like she was putting together a puzzle.

Harry turned his full attention to Slughorn, praying Bellatrix would take the hint and go. "Hello, Professor Slughorn." He said, forcing a smile. "How are you?"

Slughorn beamed like Harry had paid him some great compliment. "Doing swell, thank you for asking. Now, I hear you are quite the talent in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Harry abruptly sat back in annoyance, Slughorn's "innocent" smile suddenly much less inviting. "Where did you hear that?"

"Oh, whispers, you know. I try to be in touch with the student body." Slughorn commented. Bellatrix rolled her eyes at Harry out of Slughorn's view and Harry pretended not to notice.

"Now, between the three of us here," Slughorn smiled indulgently at Bellatrix, like she was a part of some great secret, "— the counter to _malum perdere_ is incredibly difficult to cast successfully. Most people, even if they know it, can't actually use it— but you. Wow, quite the display of power. I'm impressed."

Harry tried to keep his face neutral as he processed that information. He didn't know it was hard to cast. Maybe that was why Slytherins kept talking to him. Like Bellatrix. Harry glanced her way, but she was waiting for it and met his eyes with a look that said she, also, was impressed. Harry, immediately uncomfortable, turned back to Slughorn.

"Thank you." Harry said awkwardly.

"Now," Slughorn continued. "I have a small tradition here at Hogwarts. A little get together, so to speak. And I think you would make a fine addition to our group." Slughorn reached into his coat pocket and slid a paper across the table to Harry. "This Saturday, 7PM, my chambers. Don't be late. I'll see you later in potions. Ta ta for now." Smiling pleasantly, he nodded goodbye to Harry and Bellatrix and left, walking back to the faculty table.

Bellatrix stared after him before reaching over and grabbing the invitation from beside Harry's plate.

"Oh my God." She exclaimed, impressed. "You're invited to the Slug Club!"

"Do you want it?" Harry asked dryly.

"It's invite only." Bellatrix said ruefully. "Only a handful of people get invited. You must be the fastest invite yet. Except Edward Pattinson, but his Uncle owns three quidditch teams so he doesn't count."

Harry nodded, reaching for another piece of toast to take to-go.

"So anyways, my homework assignment—" Bellatrix circled back.

"Sorry, I have to run." Harry said, fake apologetically, standing and picking up his bags. She stared at him in annoyance.

"Go where?" She demanded.

"I have homework." Harry said vaguely.

"Bummer." She said. Harry nodded in agreement, turning to leave.

"Wait! You forgot this!" Bellatrix called at him, shoving the invitation his way. Harry reluctantly grabbed it before turning around and booking it out of the Great Hall.

Harry sighed in relief as he got out. Bellatrix Lestrange — Black — asking him for homework help was the last thing he had expected when he came back in time. The thing was, she seemed so innocent here. Her bright eyes and curly hair flashed in his mind for a moment before the image was replaced with one from twenty years later. She had the same curly hair, but the eyes lost their humanity and now she was pointing a wand at Sirius, mocking him as he approached the veil.

The memory was painful and Harry glanced down at his invitation to change his train of thought.

The invitation was white, with lacy embellishments and pretentious cursive writing:

_Slug Club_

_Saturday | 7PM | Professor Slughorn's Chambers_

_An exclusive get together of the best and brightest at Hogwarts_

Harry shoved it back in his pocket and began to head down the hall.

—

Well, of course Harry didn't have homework to do and there was still thirty minutes until class started. So he walked down the hallway and pretended to look like he had some place to be.

This was definitely a scenario when it was nice to have friends, Harry reflected, glancing around at the cobblestone floor, ignoring the paintings pointed looks, and suddenly missing Ron and Hermione a great deal.

Luckily or unluckily, voices suddenly echoed down the hall. Harry hesitated, feeling deja vu from the time he walked in on Lily and Snape having a secret meeting. He was about to turn around (he was in no mood for people) when he recognized one of the voices.

James.

It was that deep voice that was so familiar. Harry couldn't make out the words, but his curiosity got the best of him. James surely thought Harry was a dark Slytherin, but to be fair, Harry had cast dark magic in class, Harry reasoned. And even if James didn't like Harry, Harry could still get to know him from a distance.

So Harry edged down the hallway until he came into earshot.

"You're only a first year, so we'll give you one more chance to change your mind. Move." It was Sirius, his voice filled with ego. Harry frowned at the words and hoped it wasn't what it sounded like.

Harry thought to his experience with James and Sirius. They were pricks to Harry, sure, but Harry associated with Snape, so it sort of made sense. Sort of, Harry told himself. They weren't jerks. They couldn't be. Too many people had said James was amazing, James was kind, James was a hero—

"You don't own the castle!" A cheeky little voice shot back. "I can walk here if I like!"

"Wrong answer." James this time. Harry's heart tightened and he leaned against the wall at the turn, just out of eyesight. This had to be a misunderstanding. His father would never—

"What are you doing?" The boy said, fear creeping into his voice.

"You need to learn some respect." Said Sirius. Harry winced and looked down at his wand, his mind running.

"And to do as you're told." James finished. Harry closed his eyes. He couldn't believe this was happening. The boy must have done something to James and Sirius. To provoke this kind of behavior.

But what could he have done, Harry thought. He sounded like he was eleven.

"Levicorpus!" James said calmly. The boy cried out in terror. Harry couldn't see him, but Harry knew exactly what was happening. Levicorpus would send the boy's ankle to the air. It was humiliating but harmless, and Harry prayed they would stop there. He didn't want to interfere. He couldn't.

"Stop!" The boy cried out, his confidence from earlier dissolving into tears. "Please stop!"

There was a beat of silence and Harry prayed this was James and Sirius reevaluating their life choices.

"Help, somebody he— Mmmfhhh!" The boy was muffled and a thump hit the floor.

Harry braced himself, knowing what he had to do and knowing what it meant. He slid out his wand and stepped out into view.

In front of him lay a first year Slytherin boy, tied up in ropes, laying on the floor. Despite his big talk, his eyes were big and red rimmed as he blinked back tears. Harry's heart broke a little.

In contrast, Sirius and James stood tall in front of him, big, terrifying upperclassmen to this little kid. But on Harry's entrance, their gaze shifted. Sirius's eyes widened, his expression both incredulous and amused. Beside him, James locked eyes with Harry. Harry stiffened.

Here was his father.

Tall, black messy hair, head held high, shoulders broad and straight, feet placed in a power stance.

Everything Harry had ever dreamed of.

But Harry couldn't let James hurt the kid. Even if that meant James would be upset at Harry. James for his part didn't look surprised to see Harry. He merely looked amused. Sirius gave Harry a challenging look and Harry's sentimentality turned to betrayal at their immaturity.

"Ah, Fletcher!" Sirius greeted. "Here to join us, I see." Sirius gestured broadly around the empty corridor.

Harry only stared at them. "Untie him. He's eleven."

"Sirius," James mock asked, stepping forward. "What were we saying about teaching Slytherins respect?"

In answer, Sirius flicked his wand and the ropes covered the boy's eyes. The boy cried out and squirmed in darkness. "Stop!"

"Cut it out!" Harry growled, his grip tightening on his wand.

James merely met Harry's eyes and stepped forward. "No." He said, lifting his wand. In response, Harry brought up his own.

James' eyes focused on Harry's wand before he glanced up at Harry in amusement. "What? You going to use dark magic on us?"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "I don't use dark magic."

Sirius gave James a look that said, please.

"We don't have to do this." Harry said. "James—"

"It's Potter to you," James cut in coldly. "Levicorpus!" Harry deflected the spell and James eyes narrowed. It was two against one, but Harry wasn't worried— he had dueled many times with higher stakes than this. That didn't stop James and Sirius from being overconfident, though. James, the son of an Auror, had a very inflated view of his dueling prowess and had been itching all summer to put it into action.

James cast again: "Expelliarmous!" Harry ducked as a bolt of energy shot over his shoulder, then blocked a stupefy sent by Sirius.

James glared and lifted his wand again. "Impediamenta!"

Harry glared. "Stupefy!"

And at the same time, Sirius shouted, "Expelliarmous!"

Three bursts of energy collided in an explosion that was a little too loud. Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the hallway. Quickly, James turned to the kid and released him from the ropes.

Professor McGonagall strode up and observed the scene in furror.

"Mr. Fletcher." She said furiously, turning on Harry. Her presence, turned on Harry with no justification, only made Harry angrier. Behind her shoulder, James and Sirius exchanged smug glances. The little boy on the floor didn't move.

"They attacked—" Harry growled, pointing at James and Sirius, but Professor McGongall wasn't listening.

"Detention." She continued. "Hogwarts does not tolerate bullying." She declared. Harry stared at her incredulously. "Or dark magic." She added, speaking slowly and giving Harry a look that pierced. Harry stared at her. So that was what this was about. Everyone was upset he hadn't been punished for yesterday.

"It wasn't me—" Harry began again.

"Do not interrupt me, Mr. Fletcher." McGonagall said simply. Harry stared at her incredulously.

"I will if you're wrong—" Harry exclaimed.

"Mr. Fletcher." She cut in. She stepped toward him, eyes fierce. Harry met her eyes furiously. "You are clearly under the impression that anything goes here at Hogwarts. But that is simply not true. The rules must be honored."

Harry glared at her furiously before his eyes shifted to James, who stood innocently behind her. James's suddenly pleasant countenance only infuriated Harry more.

"Thank you for coming, Professor McGonagall." James said, smiling and looking relieved. Harry's temper soared.

James stepped toward the first year on the ground, reaching a hand to help him up. The first year stared at James before looking at Harry desperately. Harry didn't know what to do. Reluctantly, the first year turned back to James and took his hand.

"Where are you going?" James asked kindly. The first year still stared back silently. "Here, I'll show you the way." James looked back to Sirius and jerked his head. Sirius quickly followed lead, smiling at Professor McGonagall and walking next to James and the boy. The boy shot one last terrified look to Harry before they started walking, quickly turning the corner.

Leaving Harry and Professor McGonagall alone.

Harry stood, fuming, and refusing to look at his former beloved head of house.

She didn't look his way either.

"Monday. Seven o'clock. My office." She said simply. "Do not be late." She gave him a sideways look before turning smartly on her heel and marching off in the other direction.

Harry remained standing in the middle of an empty corridor, fuming.

And the worst part? Now it was time for potions class.

**—**

The moment Harry walked into potions class, he knew he should have skipped it.

The potions dungeon was filled with students standing at their tables, chatting and waiting for class to start. James stood at the front of the room, sitting on his table flanked by Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Sirius was talking animatedly, grinning. James said something and they all started laughing. Harry's gaze shifted to Lily, who stood a few feet from James, talking to a Hufflepuff blonde girl at the next table. James leaned over to wrap an arm around her shoulder and grinned at her like everything was fine in the world.

But the world was not fine. James and Sirius were acting like nothing had happened. Like Harry's world hadn't just shattered into a million pieces.

Harry cemented his expression as he approached the table, ignoring the stares as he approached. Remus and Peter glanced his way as he passed. Harry struggled to ignore them. He accidentally glanced up and, as his luck would have it, met Sirius' eye. His godfather gave him the middle finger under the table and Harry clenched his jaw, struggling to reign in his temper.

In front of him, Snape sat silent and alone at their table and Harry exhaled as he arrived at the table and took a seat. James looked over at him and Harry looked over, daring James to do or say something, but James only smiled.

_Smiled_.

Harry shot him a disappointed glare before turning to stare straight forward at the chalkboard.

Did Lily know, Harry wondered? If she knew what a jerk James was, would she date him? Did she know James and Sirius picked on first years in their spare time?

To Harry's right, Snape gave Harry a long calculated look. Harry only stared forward, refusing to look anywhere but the chalkboard and his text book.

At long last, Slughorn arrived and gave them another pairs assignment. Harry must have radiated bad vibes, because Snape was unusually quiet as they made their potion and his sarcasm was less cutting than normal.

Class slowly edged by until eventually Harry glanced at the clock: only five minutes left of class. Harry looked at their cauldron, which held a pink simmering liquid in its depths. It was perfect, of course. Harry got the feeling every potion he made in this class would be perfect so long as he was partnered with Severus Snape.

To Harry's right, Lily stood up and walked over to the potions cupboard. Harry watched her for a moment. Her red hair was tied up in a bun today, and Harry glanced back at James in annoyance. His mother was literally in front of him, but Harry suddenly felt disenchanted. Instead, Harry reached down to put his textbook into his bag.

When he looked up, something caught his eye.

Something brown was floating towards Harry and Snape's cauldron. Uncrushed porcupine quills, Harry guessed, and suddenly he spotted James' wand pointed his direction.

Before Harry could react, the quills plunged into the smooth liquid of Snape's potion and the viscous surface began to bubble.

Snape jerked his eyes up from his textbook in alarm. He glanced back and forth from the potion to the textbook, certain he did nothing wrong. The bubbles were getting bigger and Harry had a sudden moment of epiphany. He dove under the table.

"Duck!" He exclaimed loudly.

BOOM.

The potion exploded.

When it was safe, Harry opened his eyes and poked his head out from under the table. Dark blue slime covered the ceiling, the walls, everything within a two meter radius from Harry and Snape's table. Only Harry was relatively unscathed.

Snape had not been so lucky. Dark blue goo dripped from his hair, his robes, his face, and worst of all his nose. He furiously wiped his eyes clean with his sleeve.

"POTTER!" He screamed out furiously. Harry froze at the familiar line before he realized Snape was talking to James. Lily, who had been in the potions closet, ran out and took in the scene with a gasp. To Harry's right, Sirius and James exchanged a smirk. Most students had ducked in time given Harry's warning. Snape had been the only one too close to get away.

And as he had been the only one still stirring the potion, Snape was immediately blamed.

"Snape! Fletcher! What were you thinking?" Slughorn exploded, bustling over to their table and spelling away the toxic goo. "Porcupine quills are toxic when combined with murlap! Move back everyone!" Everyone in a panic moved away and Lily stayed over by the closet per Slughorn's instruction.

"Fletcher! You should have been more careful. And Snape! You of ALL people know how dangerous porcupine quills are! You could have been killed!" Slughorn looked furiously between the two boys, Snape standing covered in goo glaring at James and Harry sitting relatively unscathed.

A few of the girls suddenly giggled and Harry's eyebrows shot up. Where the potion had landed on Snape, boils began to erupt. All over his hands, up his neck, and across his face. Panicked, Snape looked down at his hands, and across the room at the laughing students, and his face flushed red. He glanced back and forth quickly before his eyes settled on his pathetic blackened cauldron. He looked humiliated.

"Snape!" Slughorn exclaimed in worry. James smirked triumphantly and Harry stared at his father incredulously. He had seen James in Snape's penseive, but this was too real.

"_Potter_ sabotaged my potion!" Snape exclaimed pitifully.

"Bollocks!" James challenged vehemently. "You just don't want to admit your mistake! You mixed up the ingredients. Jacob saw me— right Jacob?" James turned around to a skinny Hufflepuff and locked eyes with him, exerting all his social influence. The kid nodded vigorously and Harry pursed his lips in annoyance, knowing Jacob has seen no such thing. Slughorn watched suspiciously before turning back to Snape. Snape looked at Lily helplessly. Lily only looked away.

Harry watched all this incredulously. With all everyone's fuss about toxic potions, no one seemed concerned for the one person who was covered in it.

"Severus Snape!" Slughorn said, shaking his head. "I know you, you would never do this on accident. You know how dangerous this potion is. Was this some sort of stunt? Your classmates could have been killed! The fumes are toxic! You're lucky they never developed! How could you be so negligent!?"

"I wasn't-"

"Enough." Slughorn exclaimed. "I'm going to get cleaning supplies. None of you move, do you hear me?"

Snape's face was crushed, having been humiliated in the one and only thing he was good at. Harry glanced around the other students and realized they were reveling in Snape's pain. James leaned back leisurely as Sirius muttered in his ear, Lily still stood stiffly over at the door, and other students whispered or outright laughed at Snape's boils.

Harry's gaze returned to the pathetic student sitting next to him. Harry hated Snape more than most, but the kid was also seventeen and clearly in pain and winced when a postule popped on his cheek. Another student snorted in amusement and Harry shot him a withering glare.

James signed and offered his sympathies. "You should be more careful next time, Snape. You're lucky this wasn't worse. Now how about you apologize to everyone and clean this mess up? You wouldn't want this happening again, now would you?" The threat was veiled but there and Harry had enough. He rounded on his father and leveled him with a glare.

"How about you be a decent person and fess up?" Every eye in the room turned to Harry, even Lily over in the corner.

James gaze shifted to Harry and he sighed dramatically, shaking his head. "It's nice of yo to try and stand up for Snape here, but really, he doesn't need it."

"James." Lily said from the door in frustration. "Don't do this, okay?"

James glanced to Lily and nodded before turning back to Harry. "Really, Fletcher, I'm sorry. Sorry that you had the misfortune to be paired with Snivellous over here. He's usually alright at potions. I don't know what happened today."

"Potter!" Snape growled, his eyes narrowing behind all the boils.

"What was that, Snape? I think you've got something on your face." James told him. His audience giggled and Snape flushed.

"Lay off him." Harry told James.

"Shut up, Fletcher." James said.

"You're the one doing all the talking." Harry growled.

James leaned back and folded his arms. "I'm only explaining what happened, Fletcher."

"You mean lying?" Harry said. "How about I tell them what really happened?"

"Please." James scoffed. "Like anybody cares." He gestured at the room and Harry looked around. James was right. As Harry's gaze traveled the room, most students averted their gaze and no one spoke up. Even Lily didn't do anything, despite her apparent frustration at the situation. He looked at her last and she stared at the floor.

Harry turned back to the poor teenager beside him, covered in boils and humiliated by his peers. On the outside he glared furiously at the world, but Harry was close enough to see that his hand was shaking and his lips were white. Just then, in his peripheral vision, Harry saw the door to the resource closet open and he knew there was one person who cared.

"You won't mind then if I set the record straight." Harry said. "Snape's potion was perfect before you charmed porcupine quills straight into his cauldron. You're lying. I watched you." Harry said boldly. Snape nodded helplessly.

Slughorn, who had entered the room by now, heard Harry's declaration and stalked over to Snape.

"Is this true?" Slughorn growled. James opened his mouth to speak but Slughorn's gaze had already turned to Jacob the Hufflepuff. James turned to Jacob, but Harry had beaten him to it. Harry glared at the Hufflepuff with all the energy he could muster, hoping at least now his reputation as a powerful dark wizard could come in handy. The poor Hufflepuff sat in terror, James, Slughorn and Harry's eyes all on him.

"Is what Mr. Fletcher said true?" Slughorn repeated dangerously. "Do not lie to me."

Jacob shakily nodded his head in affirmation. James turned his eyes to the sky in exasperation before turning to stare forward, knowing he was made.

"I should have known!" Slughorn said, shaking his head. "Potter, detention! Monday night. My office!"

"Professor!" James protested indignantly.

But that was the end of it.

"Out! All of you!" Slughorn furiously dealt with the rest of the Draught of Peace gone wrong.

Lily was in no rush to greet James and she didn't look him in the eye as she walked over to another friend to see if she was okay. James took one look at her before stalking out of the room, tailed by Sirius and Remus.

While now the blue goop was gone, the boils were not. Snape looked equal parts furious and embarrassed as he shoved his books into his bags and limped out of the room, all eyes on him.

Harry followed quickly after him, frustrated that Slughorn hadn't sent him directly to the hospital wing.

As soon as he passed through the doors, Harry saw what was waiting for him.

"You snake!" James declared venomously from the center of the dungeon hallway. "Who do you think you are?" His wand was out, poised, and ready with Sirius and Peter flanking his sides. Remus stood to the side, his face concerned. A score of other students surrounded them and Snape was also trapped, standing helplessly before them. Harry walked into the group annoyed, but not surprised.

"My name is Harry Fletcher," Harry told him. "In case you've forgotten."

"You Slytherin piece of garbage! You're just like them, aren't you! Standing up for Death Eaters!"

At the word Death Eater, the students hushed and watched intently. Snape glared furiously from the side but it was difficult to take him seriously through all the boils. "Typical, arrogant, Potter!" He sneered. "Always thinking he is better than everyone around him!"

"Shut it, Snivellous!" Sirius barked.

"Oh, get over yourself!" Harry said in exasperation.

"Don't lecture him!" James exclaimed. He walked closer to Harry. Harry refused to stand down, instead stepping in front of Snape defensively so that they were so close Harry could see James' chest rising and falling with his breathing. Harry barely registered that his wand was now in his hand.

"Go on. Try me." James challenged, twirling his wand in his hand. "I dare you."

Harry sighed. "Somebody call the head boy!" Harry called out to the students and the paused for effect. "Oh, wait." He looked pointedly at James' glittering 'Head Boy' badge. James flushed furiously but could not respond because in that moment, the classroom doors opened again and Lily and her friend stepped out. Lily, the Head Girl, took in the tense situation and her eyes flashed dangerously.

"What is going on here?" She demanded.

"Nothing, Lily." James said, never breaking gaze with Harry. "We were just finishing." Harry couldn't tell if she believed him as she surveyed the scene with an unchanging face.

Her gaze landed on Harry. "Take him to the hospital wing." Harry nodded and Lily walked past James and the Marauders down the hall. James glared at Harry like this entire thing was his fault before stalking away with Sirius, Remus, and a few other Gryffindors. Harry watched after them with mixed emotions.

He glared around at the other students, effectively cueing them to leave. They whispered and stared at Snape as they past. A few even giggled, but none of them looked sympathetic and none of them said a word to him. Snape tugged on his cloak self-consciously even as his scowl deepened. Anger was much easier to deal with than humiliation, Harry knew from experience. Anger felt like you still had control. Like you weren't weak.

Harry eyed the Slytherin speculatively. He hated Snape, that much was true. He hated him for what he did in twenty years. For all the barbs, the insults, for failed Occulmency lessons, for Dumbledore's murder, for insulting his father—

Harry stopped. His father. Who turned out to be just as much as a prick as Snape had always told him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, avoiding the thought.

"You alright?" He asked Snape wearily.

"I'm fine!" Snape snarled. He walked past Harry furiously, clutching onto his bag like his life depended on it.

"Oh, sorry." Harry shot back following Snape and struggling to keep up with the lanky boy's long strides."You didn't just get soaked in a toxic potion. You aren't in crazy pain right now. Come on! Let me take you to the hospital wing!"

"I said I'm fine, Fletcher! Stop poking your nose where it doesn't belong!" Snape growled. They turned the corner and a group of third year Hufflepuffs covered their mouth in shock. One screamed and Snape turned sharply away from her but kept his pace.

"Snape-!" Harry yelled, walking after Snape as he booked it down the corridor. Suddenly Harry stopped abruptly in the middle of the empty corridor. "Oh, you know what— fine! Go by yourself, what do I care!"

Snape didn't reply but limped away as fast as he could, leaving Harry alone behind him.

**—**

**A/N: Also, a note about James. So I know he's been a total jerk so far, but just so you know, there are good things coming. Okay yeah he totally sucks right now but everyone has to start somewhere right? I've always thought it so interesting how a jerk like James was loved by so many, married Lily, and ended being such an emblem for the light. It's interesting (and kind of sad) how much you can get away with if you're attractive and charismatic. So that's what this fic explores a little. The many faces of James Potter and how he got to be the person he is when he marries Lily. **

**And then of course, it's fun to explore Snape, Lily, and Harry. And all of the Marauders. JK Rowling wrote such cool interesting complex characters, I love writing about them ! **

**And that's all for now! As always, read, review, and stay safe out there 3 **

**—Amyra**


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